The immortal La Rochefoucauld wrote, “We are always bored by those whom we bore,” but I think he was wrong about that. I find it all too easy to be so interested in what I’m saying that I don’t notice that I’m boring someone else silly. Or maybe that person doesn’t notice that I’m being bored silly.

I’ve made a list for myself of topics that I assume are boring to other people, unless I get a very clear signal that they’re actually interested. Sometimes, they are interested. Not very often.

I don’t talk about:

• The recent changes to my daughter’s nap schedule
• A great restaurant I visited in another city
• The plot of a movie or a book that the other person hasn’t seen or read
• A dream

I wish other people wouldn’t talk about:

• The latest additions to their wine cellar
• Their recent golf or tennis game
• Their annoying encounter with a cable-repair guy
• The antics of their dog

Of course, a truly great storyteller can make anything interesting. I myself cannot claim to be that great a storyteller. I remind myself to look for glazed expressions, noncommittal grunts, or darting eyes. Or, if I’m in the middle of a long story, and we’re interrupted, and the other person shows no interest in picking up the thread of the dropped conversation, I order myself to let it go.

I’m sure I’m missing some topics on which it’s easy to be boring. Any spring to mind?