Skip to main content

Verified by Psychology Today

Boredom

How Boring Are You?

A 16-item self-assessment.

Bella DePaulo’s PsychologyToday.com article, What Makes People Boring? describes factors that make a person boring. Here, I adapt those into a self-assessment. Rate yourself honestly on each of these.

Part I : Ten-point questions

For the question in this Part, score yourself using this scale:

10: Almost always true

7: Often true

3: Occasionally true

0. Rarely true

1. I take a long time to make my points, perhaps repeating myself. ___

2. I show disinterest in others by talking about myself and when others talk I don’t really listen or change the topic. ___

3. I talk about unimportant things: sports, décor, pop culture, vacation, my children's successes, etc. ___

4. I don’t contribute useful information. ___

Part II: 3-point questions

For each question in this Part, score yourself using this scale:

3: Almost always true

2: Usually true

1: Occasionally true

0. Rarely true

5. I brag. ___

6. I complain about my problems. ___

7. I’m a “broken record,” always talking about the same topic. ___

8. I repeat the same stories and jokes multiple times. ___

9. I conform to what most people believe. ___

10. I don’t express my feelings. ___

11. I don’t state my opinion. ___

12. I say much less in a conversation than do other people. ___

13. I talk more slowly than do most people. ___

14. I show little emotion. ___

15. I speak in a monotone. ___

16. I establish little eye contact. ___

Utterly unvalidated scoring key

Here’s a nearly arbitrary scoring key:

55-76 Borrrring

35 to 54 Worth conversing with

15 to 34 Interesting

Under 15 Fascinating

The takeaway

Of course, there’s more to being an interesting person than can be captured in a quick self-assessment but perhaps it gives you a pat on the back or suggests an area or two you’d like to work on.

Marty Nemko’s bio is in Wikipedia.

advertisement
More from Marty Nemko Ph.D.
More from Psychology Today