CuriosityBased

CuriosityBased

  • Services
    • Workshops
    • Digital Courses
    • Speaking Engagements
  • About Us
    • Why CuriosityBased
    • Meet the Team
    • Press
  • Resources
    • Events
    • Booklist
    • Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Blog
  • Forms of Respect
  • Connect

How to Gracefully Interrupt Ramblers at Work

July 30, 2024 by Dr. Julie Pham Leave a Comment

Navigating conversations with colleagues who ramble can be challenging. Here are eight tips to help you interrupt a rambler gracefully at work.

Eight Tips to Gracefully Interrupt Ramblers at Work

  1. Share a Related Story
    If they’re talking about a difficult project, you can say, “Oh, I have a similar experience.”
  2. Avoid Affirming Body Language
    Stop nodding, as it may unconsciously signal interest. When you stop, they may notice and pause to check in with you.
  3. Raise Your Hand
    If stopping the nodding doesn’t work, physically raise your hand to indicate you want to say something.
  4. Help Them Get to the Point
    They might be verbal processors. Help them by saying, “I just want to check for understanding. Is this what you’re saying? Yes or no?”
  5. Invite Others to Comment
    In group meetings, invite someone else to share their thoughts. For example, “I’d really like to hear what [Name] has to say about this topic.”
  6. Remind Them of Time Constraints
    Say, “I just want to do a time check. We only have 10 minutes left and need to get to the other agenda items.”
  7. Suggest a Topic Change
    Use a segue like, “You’re making me think about something else. Do you mind if we change the topic?”
  8. Ask for More Time to Think
    Say, “You’ve clearly done a lot of thinking about this. I need more time to think on my own. Can we return to this later?”

I hope you found these eight tips useful. If you did, please click like and share this post. For more tips, check out our video on interrupting ramblers in social settings and more on our blog.

Watch the video explainer

Tips & Best Practices AssertiveCommunication, CommunicationSkills, ConflictResolution, ConversationTips, EffectiveListening, PeopleSkills, PersonalDevelopment, SocialEtiquette

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Services
    • Workshops
    • Digital Courses
    • Speaking Engagements
  • About Us
    • Why CuriosityBased
    • Meet the Team
    • Press
  • Resources
    • Events
    • Booklist
    • Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Blog
  • Forms of Respect
  • Connect

You May also like …

Ace the ‘Tell Me About Yourself’ Question in Interviews – Tips for Newbies

5 Tricks to Make Networking Events Less Stressful

Title card for How to Give Positive Feedback More Comstructivvely with illustration of a woman

How to Give Positive Feedback More Effectively 

5 Ways to communicate your boundaries title image with illustrated woman

5 Ways to Communicate Your Boundaries

Footer

Subscribe to our newsletter

Learn about the 7 Forms of Respect:

7 forms of respect

© 2025 CuriosityBased . All Rights Reserved . Privacy Policy . Terms & Conditions

Copyright © 2025 · Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in