The key to obnoxious communication

What is the "I'm Special" Syndrome and How Does It Affect Communication?

You think that's bad? When I was young I had to walk twelve miles uphill to school in the dead of winter, and then twelve miles uphill back home again.

No doubt you've had the misfortune to have to talk to someone who's desire to present him or herself as special results in a contest to show who's the most disadvantaged or hard done by. At one end of the spectrum a person who believes and or is trying to portray himself as special tends to exaggerate his situations past and present, to show how difficult his life is or has been.

At the other end of the spectrum the "I'm special" person goes on and on about who he knows, what he's accomplished, and how good he his. Both approaches are driven by the same thing -- a sense of wanting to be special in one's own eyes, or the eyes of others. Ego.

It's very difficult to have real conversations with such a person, because everything gets turned back to their situation, or their accomplishments, or their health maladies.

If you have to deal with such a person, there's really no reasonable way to prevent them from hijacking every conversation for the purpose of appearing special.

However, you can ensure that YOU don't get caught up in the "I'm special" syndrome. Life isn't a competition, and communication isn't a war to find out who's best. When you behave this way, you will damage the relationships you are trying to build, and inevitably, when you try to appear special, all you end up doing is to appear to be selfish, self-centered and, in effect a bore.