5 Ways to Silence the Office Chatterbox

You know the drill: You're stuck with a colleague who gabs the day away, tells never-ending stories and dumb jokes, wasting and monopolizing your time and his on the job. Escaping the office chatterbox is not easy, but follow my tips to make a graceful exit.

If you need a good laugh, take a look at the 5-minute video here that's a tribute to Kelly Kapoor, the chatterbox from NBC's "The Office." Thanks to vinyamar for this!

Excuse yourself from the conversation with the offender and explain that you're expecting a phone call, you're late for a meeting or you must send an important email. It's as simple as that. Wait for a pause in the conversation and scram. You have work to do.

Enlist the help of another colleague and work in tag teams. Whenever one of you is stuck with the chatterbox, make advance plans to bail one another out. In other words, if you're stuck in the lunchroom with the talker, have your colleague Karen interrupt with "an important phone call" for you. If Karen is stuck, return the favor.

I know this sounds deceptive, but desperate situations require desperate measures. Use the bathrom excuse when all else fails. This is perhaps the easiest and most understandable excuse to use when cornered by the chatterbox. "Hey, I was just on my way to the men's room. I'll catch up with you later." "I really have to pee. Catch you later." Just pray that he's not waiting for you outside the men's room.

If you work in an office setting with computers, use this technology to send the office chatterbox a clear message. While she's jabbering on and on about her perfect children, avoid eye contact and stare at your computer screen. Sooner of later, it will dawn on her that you're not really that interested. Another idea is to set your Microsoft Outlook or other calendar program to chime at certain intervals during the day. This might trick the chatterbox into thinking that you have an appointment coming up, especially if you jump out of your chair and say: "Oh my God! I'm late for my appointment!"

Some office chatterboxes just don't get the message. If you've tried tips 1-4 and nothing is working, then it's time to pull out the big guns by enlisting the help of your boss or supervisor. You don't want a confrontation, so it's best if you let the boss handle this problem. Do your homework first: Add the number of times this person interrupts you or others throughout the day, note the length of each visit and then use this information in a discussion with your supervisor. Nothing works better than noting the man-hours wasted by a colleague. Try to get your colleagues to back you up. If the boss thinks the chatterbox is disrupting work flow, he is likely to take corrective action.