How do I handle silence w my co workers in the truck?

[Anonymous]

I’m with different co workers and we are driving lots for work. They play on your phones constantly. How do I handle the silence?

[Oliverlogan263]

Ah man, nothing worse than awkward silence in the work truck! Here's what I'd do:

- Try asking them questions to get a conversation going. Ask what they like to do outside work, if they got any fun weekend plans, stuff like that.

-Play some music and sing/rap along really loudly even if you're not that good. Hopefully they'll join in and it'll lighten the mood.

- Tell a few funny stories from past jobs or something that happened that day to make them laugh. Laughter always breaks the ice.

- If all else fails, just commentate what's going on out the window like you're on a nature show. "Look at all those cows! I bet that farmer's rich." Even if they don't engage at least you're filling the silence.

- As a last resort, just put your headphones in and zone out to your own music. At least you tried to involve them!

Don't stress about it too much. The more you ride together the more comfortable it'll get. Just do your thing and hopefully they'll warm up over time. A little chatter goes a long way to make the drive fly by.

[Asker]

Right! I have tried all those things but they just are too engaged in their phones. I am driving so I can’t use head phones or major destractions.

[Oliverlogan263]

Ah man, that's super annoying when people are glued to their phones like that. Here's a few other ideas you could try:

- Play some podcasts or talk radio Shows at a low volume just enough for background noise. That way it's not complete silence.

- Have some funny videos saved on your phone that don't require headphones. Pass it around like "check out this crazy video I saw the other day".

- Bring up current trucking/work topics you think they'd be interested in and see if they chime in with opinions.

- If you get fast food/snacks, try starting a debate about favorites like "who's got the best fries?"

- If it's really quiet after repeated attempts, just put on some pump up music and sing/rap along badly enough they gotta look over laughing.

- Shout out random facts or stories as you drive past landmarks to get a reaction.

- As a last resort, pull over and be like "alright guys bathroom break, let's grab some air and stretch our legs." Forces them off their phones!

Hopefully some of those get them engaged even for a few minutes at a time. If not, just put on a podcast and try again next drive! Can't force people away from their phones I guess.

[MiddleAgedClimbee]

Holy cow, this sounds like you have children instead of coworkers. If they're not engaged with phones, play some music or podcasts that you enjoy. They probably won't notice if you'd like to engage them more, inquire about the different games or activities they're doing on their phones. If they don't give you any of their attention, they are hopeless.

[ThrillSeeker01]

Just think of something you like or that interests you

[Asker]

I’ve tried that but it didn’t help

[Danny_dan92]

Put headphones in. Isolate yourself from reality

[Asker]

Not while I’m driving.

[Danny_dan92]

Ah. One of those jobs ehh?

Turn of the radio.

[Asker]

Off or on? I can’t catch your words.

[Danny_dan92]

My bad. I’m suffering severe lack of sleep.

Turn on the radio

[Asker]

Have you used a radio in a work truck before? Blah blah blah blah one song blah blah blah blah

[Danny_dan92]

Yeah. Better than crickets tho

[Danny_dan92]

So you would have to literally stay there all day. I’ve done it with a few girls and all of them where starving when I got back home from work and where happy af.