Do I open my mouth?

The man on the other end asked me if you can stop talking when you are on.

I said , yes, and that’s what I always do.


He said, I don’t believe you. Where did you get so many things in your mind at the same time. I said its old memory and the refresh rate is low, so things remain there only. He said, “Ha Ha Ha, well said. That’s the answer one can expect from a guy like you”

It all started like this.

Me: “Hello. ”

Man: “Hi I am Man. May I know your name and employee number?”

Me: Hi Man. I am Soumya . Soumya Ranjan Das. My employee number is XXXXX. May I know if I am audible at the other end?(AT SWASTIK’s ADVICE 1)

Man: Ya perfectly fine. OK Soumya. How was your day.?

Me: It was fine till now. May be its gonna be better talking to you. How do you do, Man?(AT SWASTIK’s ADVICE 2) (WELL THANKS SWASTIK)

Lokesh : O.k. fine. Thanks for asking.

So what are you passions?, he quipped. First up. First question.

I started , “OK my passions. I don’t know exactly. But a cricket match certainly does rocket my spirits. A blogging session is what I am more endeavored to when I am at my PC. Oh PC reminds me. I am a software enthusiast. I am a Linux guy too , with an irony that I work for Microsoft(a client of an Indian IT services major). By the way, movies and newspapers too – I can cling on to them for hours. Not to mention my books and novels – they are my siblings if not parents(HAHA, what crap?). Did I forget to say I wash clothes on Sundays? ”

So Soumya, like, can you speak on any topic of your choice for 2 minutes. “Ya Sure, I said.” Silence ….

“Umm Hello. Shall I speak on any topic of my choice. I am sorry I dint hear that exactly. You are feeble to hear”. Yeah, It’s okay. You may carry on.

“ Ok. I would like to tell you about one of my favorite topics. Is the WEB. I mean I am as passionate about everything on the web, as anyone else if not more. I don’t know if you know about the generations of Web. Actually Web started with Tim Berners Lee paving way for large servers for holding the Internet. It was not what it was today. All the information was concentrated in the servers of Yahoo and Google and Bell, and the PCs acted as clients accessing data from them every time they needed. Now as the web evolved, clients started becoming servers. People started sharing, publishing, tagging and sorting more and more data on the web. This is what saw the advent of collaboration and social networking, Web 2.0 being called web of collaboration also. I think I don’t need to say that Orkut, Facebook, Delicious, WordPress, Stumble Upon, SignPoster, Last.FM and Blogger are spearheads of Web 2.0. Now if they are so, then SecondLife can’t be far behind in exemplifying Web 3.0. Web 3.0 is the age of virtual environments where the main stakes are creating and managing 3D animations and earning money and managing hell lot of contacts. If you create an account in SecondLife, you can assume yourself be a banker who opens a bank for the residents - and gets the interest on money. This is not an exact example, but people are leading virtual lives out there on Second Life. Some are enjoying their double lives and having fun, while some others are driving some economics.

Sigh.

Thats all.

Man do I need to speak more?”

Man: No its OK. So Soumya, you spoke so much again. But, would you like to ask me anything.

Me: Yeah. Not much. May be I would like to know what all things you are passionate about.

Man: I am passionate about technology, hardware, software, cars, bikes………

Me: So u told u watch hell lotta movies. What abt WALL E? You watched it?

Man: Not exactly. But it is about a robot right.

Me: Ya( …… the I narrate him all about WALL E and that is 5 mins again.)

Man: So I will just start downloading now.

Me: Why ? I mean I would suggest you better go and watch the movie in the cinemas next week. I mean we are all responsible citizens. And we should do all that can be done to avoid piracy.

Man: yeah, but you know the mall n cinemas in Bang are all so costly, u get a movie ticket for around 300 and then a popcorn cost 80 rs there. So I prefer sitting quiet at home and watching all but by myself.

Me: Anyway, apart from serious talk, its good and you should not miss it.

So, Man, you are asking me some more questions?

Man: No, not exactly. (Then all that crap things in which I tell him to check my blog. Interesting thing is that he started checking then and there and wo, he was up front checking my last post.)

All finished, I was signing the register when the other lady in the room says, “You talk so much, eh. You were going on talking.” I said, “I don’t know. We struck some chords.”

CRAP.

And some people complain I never open my mouth.

May it be for some useless talk with someone you know only by his voice, You do not know if he lied to you. Nor did he know when I lied.

N.B : The above conversation occurred during a spoken English test. The content has been elevated to add some humor and substance. The things mentioned about Web are correct, but you must go to Wikipedia to know more.
The person at the other end was a SME in English Language - the spoken form specifically. He was also a voice expert. He counsels people on various topics, one being how to speak confidently to people or to an audience.