Don't interrupt, or try to “one up” people, just acknowledge them and then ask another question. Your domination tendencies can be curbed with a little bit of effort and some basic courtesy and concern for others. You'll also gain the benefit of better relationships as people learn how much you really care.
A conversational narcissist is someone who constantly turns the conversation toward themselves and steps away when the conversation is no longer about them.
To dominate a situation means to be the most powerful or important person or thing in it.
If someone is monopolizing the conversation, lob a question over to the boss directly or to someone else in the group, asking for their take on the topic at hand (“Yes, that's interesting, Steve, but Danielle, I'm curious what your thoughts are on this.”) The boss will not only notice your thoughtfulness, but also your ...
Conversational narcissists may need to have an inflated sense of their importance in order to feel good about themselves. Hence, by dominating the conversation they are making themselves and their life more important than anyone else's. This type of continuous talk might also be a symptom of anxiety.
In addition to both dominating the topic and airtime of a conversation, a narcissist might come across as incredibly arrogant and superior, making it even less likely that other people will cut in, for fear of being made to appear stupid, and thus enabling the narcissist to continue to monopolize everybody's time.
Controlling Conversation Topic
In addition to hoarding conversation time, narcissistic communicators also tend to control and direct conversation topics. They focus on what they want to talk about, the way they want to talk about it, with little or no consideration for alternate views.
monopolize verb [T] (PERSON/CONVERSATION)
If someone monopolizes a person or a conversation, they talk a lot or stop other people being involved: She completely monopolized the conversation at lunch.
Narcissists also gaslight or practice master manipulation, weakening and destabilizing their victims; finally, they utilize positive and negative emotions or moments to trick others. When a narcissist can't control you, they'll likely feel threatened, react with anger, and they might even start threatening you.
But conversational narcissism means people use the "shift response" as they try and claim that limelight for themselves. For example, if someone says they have a headache, a support response would be "I feel you. Is it a headache?
Ego-needs. Conversational Narcissists are more interested in getting their need for attention met in conversation than having your needs met or not being rude. We all have the psychological need to be validated by others and self-express – it's part of being a social species.
Listen for a brief time to be polite, then simply say, "Excuse me, I'd love to talk more, but I have a deadline to attend to." If they continue the conversation anyway, you respond firmly with, "Let's set up a time to talk later."
It is generally considered rude to tell someone to shut up. Even if you phrase it more politely, they may still take offense as people believe they have the right to speak when they feel like it.
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse so insidious that many articles have been written about it. Narcissists use this tactic in conversations by purposely altering or not sharing information and replacing it with false information.
In addition to hoarding conversation time, narcissistic communicators also tend to control and direct conversation topics. They focus on what they want to talk about, the way they want to talk about it, with little or no consideration for alternate views.
How about you? The term “conversational narcissist” was coined by sociologist Charles Derber who describes the trait of consistently turning a conversation back to yourself. A balanced conversation involves both sides, but conversational narcissists tend to keep the focus on themselves.
Regardless of how they turn the conversation back to themselves, there is one thing all these methods have in common… insecurity. Like with all narcissists, there are a lot of insecurities underneath the surface. There are a lot of reasons why someone is a conversation narcissist.