Fair question. It's not like I'm a rude or an abrasive person, well not often anyways.

I don't have the gift of gab. My father could make almost anyone feel like they were his best friend. Whether it's the clerk at the bowling alley, the cop pulling him over, whatever. People he saw once a week or perhaps would never encounter again. Just a friendly guy.

My mother is more reserved. Not hostile but not the outgoing personality my father was. Easily annoyed by people. Given a typical interaction, say with a checkout clerk at a grocery store, my mother would say the typical "Good mornings", "Have a nice day", "Thankyou" stuff. No rudeness. Just paying for her groceries. The interaction is neutral. Dad, he'd know that clerk's name, the name of her dog, the fact that it was sick recently and they were seeing the vet on Main St. The vet had done wonders for Mr Smith's cat last year. Poor thing....

Mom, if you stand in a public doorway impeding traffic she's going to let you know. Dad, he'll know that you're just passing through, getting some food for the road, Taking a trip to Michigan to visit an old army buddy who's wife died 2 days ago...

I got my mom's personality. My wife can deal with that and sees my positive qualities. Whatever the heck those are...