How To Know When To Drop A Subject

[Edwardo Piet]

I have this personal difficulty when I just don't know when to "drop it" and change the subject, I keep talking about the same thing on and on and on.

It's like nervous rambling where I get worried that something hasn't been resolved and like I need to finish what I'm saying even if it's not important, because I for some reason feel like there's no harm in finishing it even if it's really irritating and I just need to stop lol.

My problem is I often can't think what to change the subject to.

I was wondering if "Shall we change the subject?" suffices or are there better ways?

[SteelCurtain]

Verbal and visual cues are the key. If someone is droning on and on and I'm no longer interested and want to change the subject or leave the conversation, I find myself no longer making eye contact, looking around for exits, my responses will no longer include questions or additions to the conversation but will be more along the lines of "uh-huh", and "yeah."

I have a team member at work who does this. He'll talk about everything for two hours if I just stand there. It's awkward. But I just say, "Hey, I gotta go to heads" or something like that, to break the conversation.

I think the key is to realize that conversations do not need a formal 'ending' to just be over.

[Edwardo Piet]

I agree that that can apply if it's time the conversation ended.

What if the conversation is fine but It's simply about time I dropped the particular subject and talked about something else?

Like, I often can't think of something else to talk about and get stuck on one thing. I often don't have very original thoughts. Lol. I can be quite mechanical and repetitive. it's like an OCD thing.

it's not so much tthat I won't stop talking it's more that I won't stop talking about one particular thing and I need to know when to move onto something else.

Like, I could easily stop what I'm talking about and talk about something else but I get stuck on one thing because I become speechless.

I am wondering if when I can't think of something else to talk about, I am wondering if "Shall we change the subject?" will suffice?

Oh, and thank you for your help so far.

[SteelCurtain]

Sure. If you're talking to someone who knows you, they're probably already aware of it. The best thing to do is point it out and joke about it.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

When someone begins to bore me senseless, I can usually get relief by waiting for them to take a breath and jumping in with, 'Speaking of that, did you hear...' and bringing up an entirely different topic. The 'speaking of that' phrase makes the chatterer think they're still on the same subject.

Boru

[Edwardo Piet]

When someone begins to bore me senseless, I can usually get relief by waiting for them to take a breath and jumping in with, 'Speaking of that, did you hear...'  and bringing up an entirely different topic.  The 'speaking of that' phrase makes the chatterer think they're still on the same subject.

Boru

I love it.

Sure. If you're talking to someone who knows you, they're probably already aware of it. The best thing to do is point it out and joke about it.

That sounds like fun because with me it will be a recurring joke

[paulpablo]

This is referenced in sienfeld with George Costanza when he's talking to his girlfriend about toilets and she asks to change the subject.

In the wise words of George Costanza toilets were the subject and conversations should end of their own violition

[Edwardo Piet]

[TheRealJoeFish]

I like to say "well, think of it this way" and then just stop talking.

[Edwardo Piet]

I like "Well, there's only one way out of that situation."

And then when someone says "What?" say "I don't know. I just think there's probably only one way out of that situation." Followed by an awkward silence.