Is there a way to politely tell strangers to stop talking to you?
I am an introvert, and generally don’t talk to people when I’m out and about. However, I also live in the South, where strangers tend to make small talk, and sometimes try to drag it out.
To be clear, I don’t have issues with the basic pleasantries (“hi how are you”, “mind if I squeeze past you”, etc.”). My issue is when people try to turn it into actual conversation and I dont have the ability to escape.
For example, my husband and I had a date this morning, and we were at a cat cafe. A stranger kept trying to make conversations with me about the cats. Talking about the cats different personalities, do I have my own, etc.
I was not in the mood to talk with this person, but I couldn’t find a way to disengage, and it eventually stopped only because the stranger moved away.
Does anyone have recommendations on what to say/do to get this to stop? I don’t want to be excessively rude (being in the south means I do try to be polite), but I’m not going to talk with a stranger just because THEY want to.