 Everyone likes to be heard. There is nothing wrong with wanting people to know your opinions or how you feel. However, expressing yourself can be problematic when it becomes excessive. But then again, how do you know when you are speaking too much? In this video, I will show you 9 signs you talk too much. 1. You relate everything to your personal life. Do you have a unique experience to share for every conversation you are involved in? Then, you probably talk too much. People who talk too much will always find a way to talk about their personal life no matter the conversation they are involved in. Being able to relate your issues with your team members may sound like you are part of a team that you could spend time with out of the office and that is something you should be excited about. However, if you are always using personal examples to illustrate every thought during a meeting, you are making it way too easy to get off topic and you are probably over sharing. 2. You start debates that aren't relevant to the conversation. Have you ever been in a situation where you and your other team members are trying to sort through the details of a tree kit project only to have someone derail the conversation by completely changing the subject? How frustrating it can be. Although, you probably have good intentions with your arguments and usually are not trying to bring up a new topic entirely. It is a time wister, primarily if it occurs in the middle of something significant. Thanks to your talkative nature, your team will now be likely to have two unresult issues to get through in a limited amount of time. 3. Everyone near you wears earbuds when you are talking. Each time Jill steps into the room, everyone reaches for their headphones. Jill has noticed and is wondering why it is so. What do you think? Well, if everyone in the room has earbuds stuffed into their ears whenever you are tempted to join in the conversation or if they quickly jam them into their ears upon your approach, it is a massive pointer that you are trying to avoid you and your many talks. This attitude is one of the most apparent red lights you get if you talk too much. Entrepreneur.com advises avoiding being on the receiving end of embarrassing passive-aggressive blow-offs like this in your workplace. Shed your time to talk about specific work-related topics with your co-workers as needed and stay on topic. Save the small talk for the break room where you have limited time and be the last to talk. Continually practicing this would make you less of a talkative in no time. 4. You do most of the talking. If you find that you initiate conversations with your people most of the time and you dominate most of the cheat chats you start, chances are you talk too much. If you don't realize it, you're not alone. According to Annie Stevens, managing partner at ClearRock, a Boston-based executive coaching firm, most people aren't aware that they talk too much. Thus, Annie coined out a wise motto for workplace communication which states thus, be brief, be brilliant and be gone. Instead of always starting conversations, wait for others to kick up discussions with you from time to time and practice biting your tongue while others talk. While the first would be easy to practice, the latter is usually a difficult task for verbal vomitors. 5. People look at their phones when you talk. Although it is a bad habit that a lot of us have these days, if someone keeps checking their phone during your conversation, they might be trying to end the conversation. If a person glazes over and looks like they would rather be anywhere but here listening to you ramble, it is because you are probably talking too much and they actually would prefer to use their phone at the moment. If you were smart enough, you will take their dismissive body language as a hand and zip your lip. Bear in mind that when people get fed up to the extent of focusing their gaze on their phone, they are not getting the message you are passing to them, one bit. Thus, if you need to tell them something urgent, dismiss the meeting and send the information to them through other means like email, social media, etc. 6. You can't answer a question in a sentence or two. Someone asks you what time it is and you tell them about the time someone told you the time that the time when you asked them for the time on the train and lots of stories. The truth is that this attitude is annoying. That question is a straightforward answer so there is no need for all the explanations you are giving. Before answering any question, endeavor to get a full grasp of it and then seek for the most concise answer available. You don't have to yell out whatever pops into your head. If the person who asks you the question has a follow-up question, then feel free to add your answer. Else, keep. Don't go any further. Using too many words to answer a simple question does not make you smart. It complicates the question you are asked, may confuse the person who asked the question and make you look stupid, generally. Like on learning any unwanted habitual behavior, it takes time, impulse control, practice, and plenty of it. 7. You can't stand to be alone. Are you or have you met someone who is never comfortable being alone? Like, they always want to hang out with people and if they can't find anyone to hang out with, they feel sad and lonely. People who talk too much do not understand that there is a lot to lose by always being around people. Research has shown that without someone to talk to, your mind has a chance to wonder. This is where deep critical thinking and creativity begins. Hence, it is much beneficial to embrace the silence in the room rather than shy away from it. There is much to be learned from your introverted counterparts in their ability to make even the noisiest of environments as quiet as the back corner of a library. Extroversion is a beautiful trait, but the introverts are getting something out of life that you're missing. 8. You find it hard to restrain yourself from talking. As a founding father of jazz, Puffy-chicked trumpeter D.Z. Gallipsey was well known for the notes emanating from his instruments. Yet, legends have it that D.Z. attributes much of his musical greatness to just the opposite of many songs. He says, it has taken me all my life to learn what not to play, whether it's music, a board meeting, or an argument with a significant other. Life requires a tremendous amount of oratory restraint. Unfortunately, people who talk too much find it extremely difficult to keep shot when they need to. However, if you think before you speak, you will realize that you do not need to get involved in every conversation. As an old saying goes, silence is often the best thing our mouths can emanate. 9. People feel exhausted after conversations with you. Do people sometimes roll their eyes when you start to talk, or maybe tap their food impatiently? Do people begin to face out, looking blank or distracted when you begin to elaborate on something? Do people nod their heads and throw out irrelevant yes and aha's without wanting you to elaborate any further? Or worse, do people sometimes ignore you completely when you get on a verbal roll, turn the other way and start a conversation with the next person? An ultimate sign is a straightforward one. The other person may say something as simple as, you talk too much and move away. All of this provides some good indicators of whether you're tedious or frustrating people by talking too much. When people give you any of these attitudes or related ones when you speak, it means that they are tired of your talks. If signs like this are consistent factors in your conversations, you're talking too much. While being vocal is not wrong, studies show that people who talk too much hurt their careers with that singular attitude. The best way to leave is to apply the rule. Let's talk more action.