Raele Altano explains when talking tips into rambling: keep uninterrupted speaking to about 60 seconds, then pass the conversational ball. Celeste Headley's book We Need to Talk cites business psychiatrist Mark Goldson's original suggestion of 40 seconds.
This is a great point and something I think many of us are conscious of in everyday conversation. How long is too long to be talking, especially about ourselves? In the book we need to Talk by Celeste Headley, the author references a business psychiatrist by the name of Mark Goldson, who says we only have about 40 seconds to speak in a conversation before we run the risk of dominating the exchange. I'm going to overrule that and give it 60 seconds. Think of a conversation like a game with the ball, and after about a minute of talking, pass the ball back to the other person. Let the other person speak, ask you questions, maybe share something of their own. In a good conversation or a good game, the ball should come back to you and give you the opportunity to speak again. So it's not so much about under sharing as it is about being mindful of how long you're talking in one consecutive setting. My 60 seconds is almost up here, so I'm going to take my own advice and wrap up. I'm well with Rael, your communication coach, and I hope this tip was helpful.
