Some people never stop talking due to constant chatter inside their head. This thicket of noise can make talking (and listening) to them monumentally challenging.
When people carry a lot of chatter in their heads, these unordered, tangential thoughts can leak out all over their conversations in a stream of consciousness style. This makes it almost impossible to figure out what’s meaningful information and what’s just noise.
For your sanity, do two things. First, absolve yourself of the need to figure out what they are saying or the requirement to respond to their constant dialogue. This leads to the second, and most important thing: let them talk. Seriously. You are going to have a tough time getting a word in anyway, so let the chatterbox pull the vast majority of the conversational freight. When you run out of time, interrupt gently and make your exit.
But what if you need to make a point? In this case, you be the one to start the conversation and get your main point out quickly. Refer back to your main point until you are certain that the message has been received, and then start angling for a tactful exit. Depending on the nature of your main point (for example, if it’s negative) you might want to exit quickly so the chatterbox doesn’t blabber all over your main point and dilute it or, worse, escalate the conversation after your point has been communicated.
To improve your communication with chatterboxes, let them talk. Don’t worry about responding or making sense of all that they are saying—this is impossible. If you need to initiate a strategic conversation with a chatterbox, be the one to start the conversation, get your main point out quickly, and head for the hills when you are certain that they understand the message.