Have you ever felt like a fool for having said too much? Anita Chow had one of those moments.
A few weeks ago, she applied for a job with a company. Chow said she was usually quiet, but during the interview she tried hard to act against her nature. She smiled a lot and talked in a lively manner. When asked why she wanted to work in the company, she said the job would enable her to meet a lot of interesting people. Then she added jokingly," Who knows? I might even meet my future husband."
Chow wanted to beat herself up the moment she stepped out of the interview room." It came out so wrong," she says." Now the interviewers will think of me as one of those women who don't have any career ambition and just want to get married and settle down."
Saying too much or oversharing happens to every one of us. In the time of social media, sharing every detail of your life is almost expected and encouraged. But it isn't all social media's fault." Experts say oversharing often happens when we are trying subconsciously to control our anxiety," according to a Wall Street Joumal column. Chow's is a typical case of" self-adjustment" aimed at fighting her own anxiety. It happens like this: When having a conversation, we want to sound amusing and interesting. So we use a lot of mental energy trying to manage the other person's impression of us. The effort required to do this leaves less brainpower to think over what we say and to whom, says The Wall Street Joumal.
This explains why we sometimes suddenly say embarrassing things to people we want to impress most, whether it's a first date, the boss or our future in-laws. It leads to embarrassing situations and is the perfect material for comedy movies.
So how do you stop yourself from saying too much? Simple: stop and think before you open your mouth.
