# How do you deal with ridiculously verbose people? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 10, 2002, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-ridiculously-verbose-people/108301 "2002-05-10T16:02:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-ridiculously-verbose-people/108301/41 "2002-05-13T03:16:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Manda JO \* > **shrew** , I’d argue that even a teacher that does little or no lecturing best not hate to talk: there are a great many places besides the lecturn where you need to talk. I’ve had a few teachers who obviously did not enjoy talking with their students, and they were not effective. I’d argue that there’s a difference between “not liking to talk” and “not liking to talk to my students”. I always take the time and effort to listen and talk with my students. After all, they’re why I get up in the morning. I’ve dedicated my whole career to them. But I’m a bit more impatient with adults who try to bogart my time. It’s not that I HATE to talk. I just prefer silence to mindless chatter. ---
**Author:** ![Chris\_Luongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chris\_Luongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chris_Luongo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-ridiculously-verbose-people/108301/42 "2002-05-13T03:57:22Z")
If someone starts telling me a boring story in minute detail, I like to interrupt them, and do the same back to them: I either ask them for MORE detail, or I simply pretend to completely misunsderstand them, by paraphrasing what they just said in a manner that makes no sense whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-ridiculously-verbose-people/108301/43 "2002-05-13T19:24:27Z")
Monty Python had the skit where some guy started bleeding profusely from a superficial wound, as did SNL’s rendition of Julia Child after slicing her finger during a meal prep. Knowing I was going to be around one of these chataholics, I’d love to hook that apparatus up to my ear and after they’ve droned on for awhile, all of a sudden start having blood squirt profusely out my ears. Maybe I could implore them to “take a breath or something” and walk away. If two or three of us did it in succession to the same person, I’d think we’d have quite an impact on them, not to mention getting in a good chuckle. Anybody got a camcorder? ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-ridiculously-verbose-people/108301/44 "2002-05-13T23:38:13Z")
I’m sorry, my brain just melted :: falls forward onto the laptop :: ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-ridiculously-verbose-people/108301/45 "2002-05-14T04:23:41Z")
(Dieter/) “Your Prattle has become Tiresome.”(/Dieter) ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-ridiculously-verbose-people/108301/46 "2002-05-14T04:36:25Z")
I wait for them to finish and then say something rude in a passive-aggressive sort of way. I may launch of into a similarly mundane story, only make it as boring and patently absurd as possible, until they stop me. Eventually people don’t even talk to you any more. It’s a great system. I myself have the common decency to stop talking to someone if they begin displaying all the obvious signs of disinterest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-ridiculously-verbose-people/108301.md?page=2)