<p>At my workplace we did a team building exercise with a Myers-Briggs like quiz. I forget the name, but it was a shorter questionnaire with the goal of identifying not personality types but workplace communication styles. One is identified as red, yellow, green or blue (or sometime a combination of tendencies). First we did a secret ballot to identify what we thought each co-worker was. The goal was not to wallow in our own personality style but to see how we could better communicate with our co-workers by understanding their styles better, meeting them partway with our interactions and trying to give people the information that they need in a format that they are prepared to take it in. The burden is placed more on the person who desires to communicate. </p>
<p>For example, when someone is trying to tell me a story or need I’m a “just the facts” person. Give me the bottom line up front in a nutshell, then you can tell me the backstory (blue on this scale). I have a husband and son who take 10 minutes to get where they’re going with something - all modifiers and backstory with the real content and action items at the end. This drives me nuts. I have been known to ask if they could please give me the quick bottom line so that I will be better able to focus on listening to their story. That seems to work for everyone.</p>
<p>This is stuff that most adults are still working on, so I wouldn’t expect teens to have it perfected. It could help OP to identify her style and what she needs/expects from an interaction. Maybe she could modify her expectations and style just enough to communicate what she wants to or do an offer to son like, “I respect your style and I’m not going to press you for detailed stories of your life, I know that’s not your thing - could you meet me part way with my style and do __________ for me?”</p>