Most of us have at times clicked into a trance like state wherein we stop thinking and start replaying a tape we have heard before from others who we feel a need to mimic. We have all done it as well as watched our friends do it.
When does it happen? When people are trying hard to convince themselves that something is true. You can almost hear the click and whirrr sounds as the canned lecture begins and the eye contact stops, for to maintain eye contact would break the trance.
The older you get the better you become at spotting this parroting behavior in others and--more importantly--in yourself. I finally got to the point where I can catch myself within seconds of starting "Oh man, there I go again with my old story about X or Y." Then I stop and smile.
Older folks tip you off that a "trance lecture" is coming with phrases such as "Well, in my day things were different...."
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