I have made a friend. Every single time we’ve hung out, she has just talked about herself the ENTIRE time. I’m not even exaggerating last time I hung out with her I timed how long it would take her to roll the conversation over to me. It took 2 hours, but that’s only because she just asked me a simple question then immediately ran back to talking about herself for the next two hours. I feel like a diary rather than a friend. I really like her but now I feel bored and dread hanging out.
I try to be an active listener: I nod, make eye contact, ask follow-up questions, make commentary when appropriate it’s like I am always inducing her to talk about herself.
Should I just knock it back a notch in active listening or is this only dependent on her choice to include me in our conversation? If my fault, how do I converse with toning down active listening without ruining organic conversation?