Some people talk just to hear themselves talk, while others have to explain every minute detail of their lives. Some people never seem to shut up, no matter whether they are monopolising the conversation or you have a meeting to start or whatever.

You will no doubt be familiar with these people because they are also the ones who can never let you finish your story before they unkindly interrupt you with a similar story that, to them, is even better.

However the person is talking to much, you can get them to shut up. You need to, if you are going to get them to listen to you.

People who can't shut up generally just ramble on from subject to subject, even when the subject they are bouncing to has no relevance to the topic that is actually being talked about. These folks can be some of the most irritating people to be socialising with. They can, in a real sense, put a damper on an otherwise an enjoyable time, so to save you a lot of frustration you need to know how to cope with them.

How to get people to shut up can be a challenge, but it can be done. Here are some ideas that should help you.

1. Be serious without trying to offend when letting the person who can't shut up know that they need to shut up. They need to know that you really want them to be quiet, but if you offend them it could be counterproductive, making them angry and aggressive and ultimately more of a problem than just talking a lot.

2. Body language

There are many body language signals you can send, along with gentle comments that could send the message, "Please shut up", to the person who talks too much. If you are good enough about subtly letting them know enough is enough, you could save them some embarrassment, which would naturally offend them.

3. Try staring for a few seconds

Just stare at people who can't seem to shut up to help them get the idea that they should stop talking now. A good stare, with a serious expression on your face, will let them know that you are tired of listening to their noise.

4. Ignore them

This a powerful message to send to a person who just can't keep their lips from flapping. The down side to ignoring anyone is that it is always taken as an offence.

5. Don't laugh at the jokes of the people that you want to shut up

Don't give them this approval, because it only gives them fuel and energy to keep talking because now people are laughing because of them.

Fortunately, most people who can`t shut up do catch on to the ignoring, the stares, and the lack of laughter at their jokes as a time to really shut up or exit stage left.

6. Walk away when nothing else works in shutting someone up

There is only so much any of us can take if we are faced with someone who just won't shut up. When someone who is talking too much is really getting on your nerves you have two choices. The first is to confront them, which then can turn into something neither of you want, if you don't implement the above steps very carefully with tact and diplomacy.

Or you can the difficult thing, but sometimes the right thing, and walk away. This may your only choice if you are worried that tackling the person any other way would provoke them to anger. That would help no one.

How to get people to shut up is not all that easy at times. People who talk a lot can really get on your nerves and they can very hard to be around.

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: communication skills http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/blog/