Dealing with people who talk too much

[profnot]

I've seen several ways of dealing with people who talk and talk and talk and talk.....

I used to date an Italian guy. When the huge family got together, one aunt would talk everyone's ear off. When the grandfather had enough, he would look straight at one of the aunt's sisters and say "turn off the radio!" Worked great.

My mother would talk in 90-word sentences about almost nothing. When she got older, it got worse. But she loved it when I called. So I would sit in my very comfy reading/TV chair, turn the TV on, turn the sound off, and call Mum. I'd watch the TV and let her ramble for over an hour then ring the doorbell or something and say "gotta go."

One friend with Asbergers would visit from out of town. Sweet man but I wouldn't let him drink caffeine. Helped lots.

One guy I dated a couple of times talked forever and would get angry if I interrupted him. He interrupted me all the time. I told him to stop it. Several times. One time at dinner, he did it again. I shoved my napkin into his mouth and left the room. Not dating him cured my problem.

One poster asked how to engage an introvert. Easy - just ask questions that aren't personal, religious, or political. Don't grill them - just talk about whatever the answer is. What is your favorite season? (Then talk about why that season is great. Don't talk about YOUR favorite season.) What books do you really like? Who is your favorite person at work? What do you think about x movie? Favorite place you've traveled? Could you give me advice on (how to cook something, how to fix something, idea for bday cake, etc)?