Flogging A Dead Horse

Do you find that some people just don't know when to stop. I make this point about conversations, in particular, jokes. When I have conversations with other people, all parties want to get their point across. This is great, otherwise it wouldn't be a conversation, it would be a lecture. And when there are interesting topics to discuss about, these points can be discussed for quite a while. Usually, in between discussions, there are jokes thrown in. Everyone laughs at these jokes but there is a time to stop and get back to the regular discussion.

The problem is that some individuals just don't know when to stop. The conversations has clearly moved on, yet they are still Flogging A Dead Horse. I know of people who never instigate discussion but instead jump on other people's topic. Then they joke about it and keep going. They go into what I call "Used Car Salesmen" mode. This is where they keep going on and on about the same thing, like a used car salesmen who keeps telling you everything about the car even when you have heard enough. These people keep throwing in joke after joke about the same thing, to the point that it's not even funny anymore. I do find the initial jokes funny, but by the tenth one, I'm over it and its just become tedious. I just want to keep going with the discussion and move on. I have told this to certain individuals and said that it becomes boring after a while. They will stop for a while, but then go right back into it. This just makes me not want to talk to them about anything because I can never take them seriously.

Sometimes, when the discussion has moved on to another topic, these people are still thinking of the same old joke they were on and might come up with another one, in which case they interrupt and continue with those jokes. Do people not know when a topic is closed and thats it boring to keep going with it.

Why do people keep doing this? Are they just devoid of original conversation and interesting things to talk about? Or are they just comedians in hiding waiting for their big break? Or are they just selfish and want to keep attention and hence keep telling their jokes? Who knows, all I know is that it just becomes boring and annoying and totally stops any conversation. Don't get me wrong, I love a joke as much as the next person, even rude jokes, but I don't want joking all the time. There must be a serious side to people sometimes. There must be occasions when you can talk about something seriously rather than joking all the time. When you can't take someone seriously, you cannot respect them and without respect, any relationship is standing on shaky ground.