Polite-ish Ways To Tell Someone To Shut Up

Author image for Eric Lund
Eric Lund
Apr 11, 2021 2:00 PM EDT

Some of us are talkers, and hopefully you know who you are. There comes a time in every conversation's life when it's time for that conversation to end. Maybe it's when the one person starts talking about their favorite cat names. It could be when you find yourself saying "wow, that's crazy" for the fifth time. But being basically polite people, it helps to have strategies that are better than shouting "I hate you I hate you I hate you." Our politeness gets us into some weird situations, like these worst things people ate out of politeness.

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  • 01
    Font - Ih8MyBrosWife 1 day ago We have a chatty crossing guard that talks closely without a mask. He always stops people and talks their ear off. You can tell by their body language they want out but they are to polite. Not me. "Sorry I m in a hurry" followed by walking away. He doesn't bother me anymore but my wife still hasn't built up the courage. She strategically crosses the the street to avoid him.
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  • 02
    Eye - duckedoo 1 day ago 3 2 3 "I wish we had more time to talk, but I have to go"
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  • 03
    Font - 2 Maelja 1 day ago Q 2 8 3 3 In person: drop something. As you bend down to pick it up change the topic or use an exit line. The drop should cause the talkative person to momentarily lose their momentum allowing you to make the transition.
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  • 04
    Head - thandiwe0429 1 day ago S2 On the phone I say "Hey, I'm going to let you go now."
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  • 05
    Nose - m3u2r9 1 day ago I tell my kids “my ears are tired"
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  • 06
    Font - jenskal 1 day ago · edited 21 hours ago S Former neighbour was nice enough but wanted to chat all the time. If I was carrying something, I'd say I should really get this food in the fridge. Or - nice chatting but I really have to go and get back to work. There was this girl I had to help train at my last job. She had no concept of personal space. I often had to tell her that I really had to get back to work and couldn't sit and chat all day.
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  • 07
    Rectangle - sosogos 1 day ago O 7 & 10 More Make your face appear worried and pretend that your hand is moving beyond your control, then politely pinch their lips together with your thumb and index finger.
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  • 08
    Font - prolestari 1 day ago 2 4 e 3 6 My sister is like this sometimes, so I'll say, "I want to give you my full attention, but right now I'm watching something/feeling tired/need to go and plan dinner, etc. Can you hold that thought until later?" At work I use the same tactic, like, "I'm in the middle of something (even if you're not pretend you are), can this wait or is this critical for right now?" Another tactic I use is to let them know right away how much time they have: "Before you start,
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  • 09
    Font - MrsEyepo 1 day ago · edited 15 hours ago 2 2 e3 3 Adding TL;DR: We don't do it on purpose so just nicely ask us to stop or do something else and we may get & 6 More the point and stop ourselves. As a talkative person, I can 100% say I usually just don't realize I'm talking too much. It's not intentional on my part, but once I became more aware of it I started noticing when people's eyes would glaze over or they would just start doing something else. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn'
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  • 10
    Smile - MrAlek360 1 day ago · edited 1 day ago Kind of selfish, but drag another person into the conversation, then sneak away. I've had to do this before, and it works pretty much every time.
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  • 11
    Head - Key_Barber_4161 1 day ago 2 Do it the British way. Slap your thigh and loudly proclaim "well must be going" then just walk away.
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  • 12
    Font - TexanReddit 1 day ago I had a talker as a roommate in college. "Look. I know you're excited about being away from home for the first time, but I have an 8 o'clock class, and I need to go to sleep. Good night." Didn't work. Repeated in various ways several times. I finally said, "Shut up." Roommate got all huffy. "Fine. Be huffy. Just be quiet about it."
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  • 13
    Font - OpinionatedAss 1 day ago My old boss was this way. I freaking love her but I always tell people that if you are going to talk to her, make sure you have an exit strategy. If that is a meeting in 15 minutes or that you have to help someone else ... ANYTHING ... But she will talk to you for 90 minutes easy
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  • 14
    Font - Acceptable_Medicine2 1 day ago O e On the phone: "Listen, I'm gonna let you go because I need to-" get to the store/pharmacy, start dinner, get to work. Anything. With a stranger: "Don't take it personally but I came here to be alone" or "I don't want to talk right now." Anyone who doesn't know you and can't respect the fundamental human need for solitude can take a hike. To a trusted loved one: “I need to be alone in my own head now" The hardest one is with a friend or coworker, in my op
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  • 15
    Font - crazykatmom 1 day ago At this point in my life I just get up and walk away
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  • 16
    Font - Robbiebuddy 1 day ago "Well I won't keep you any longer" 163 + Reply Share Report Save xKolchianx 1 day ago I don't think this one would work cause it sounds like you're implying you're wasting THEIR time and they would probably respond with "Oh no, it's ok I've got all the time in the world" or something to the same effect.
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