If you talk too much, here's the reason.

You talk A LOT.

Two women are sitting outdoors at a table, engaged in conversation. One has blonde hair and is seen from the back. The other has dark hair with bangs, red lipstick, and is stirring a drink, looking attentively at the blonde woman. The background is blurred with greenery.

Either you know you do, or you’ve been told you do.

Probably both.

But right now you can’t seem to help yourself.

And you don’t even know why you do it.

Understanding the reasons behind your excessive talking is vital to being able to tackle it, and help other people understand and accept it.

There are many reasons why a person might talk so much, but here are the main ones.

1. You lack impulse control.

A smiling man wearing a yellow t-shirt and glasses is sitting in a café, holding a paper coffee cup. The background includes blurred café furniture and shelves. The man's body language suggests he is engaged in a conversation with someone off-camera.

Many people dominate conversations simply because they lack the ability to control their urge to talk.

Whenever a conversational partner makes a point, you jump right back in with your own thoughts.

You do this without thinking and regardless of whether they had finished their point.

A thought simply enters your mind and before you’ve had a chance to question whether it needs to be said (straight away, at least), you’ve gone ahead and said it.

2. It’s a boost to your ego.

Two women sit at an outdoor café table on a cobblestone sidewalk. The woman on the right holds a cup, has long brown hair, and wears red lipstick. Both are wrapped in shawls, with autumn leaves in the foreground. The background shows buildings and a blurred street view.

It feels good to be listened to.

By hearing your voice and sharing your thoughts, you receive some form of gratification.

In those moments when you are doing the talking, you receive the attention of others and this gives your ego a little boost.

And because it feels good, you do more and more of it.

3. You think it makes you more likeable.

A woman with long brown hair, wearing a denim top, sits on a sofa, gesturing with open hands while talking to another woman with blonde hair in a striped shirt. They are in a cozy living room with a lamp, framed pictures, and a plant in the background.

You believe that being outgoing, talkative, and the proverbial life and soul of the party makes people like you.

And everyone wants to be liked by those people they share their life with.

Quite often your chatty personality is welcomed and enjoyed. You bring a zest and vibrancy to proceedings.

This makes it more appealing for you to talk a lot at other times. Talking makes you feel more interesting.

And this can lead to you speaking too much in situations that don’t call for it, or at times when your words are not being so uplifting.

4. You enjoy giving your opinions on things.

A woman with long hair and glasses is sitting at a table, engaging in a conversation with a man wearing a gray sweater. They are indoors near a window with sunlight streaming in, and there are cups and a laptop on the table.

Everyone will have some sort of opinion on most topics of conversation, and you like to make yours heard.

This relates back to the ego boost because you get a little buzz out of making your opinion known to others.

And the same can be said for giving advice to other people on the problems that they are relaying to you.

It doesn’t matter if that advice wasn’t asked for, you like to give it anyway.

5. You like to be right.

Two women sit at a table with glasses of orange juice. The woman on the left rests her chin on her hand, looking bored. The woman on the right gestures excitedly with a big smile. They are in a bright outdoor setting with blurred greenery in the background.

When it comes to those opinions of yours, you like to be right all the time and will spend time talking to prove that you are.

Whether it’s taking the moral high ground on something or out-maneuvering the other person in a debate/argument, you talk until you feel you have won the point.

6. You enjoy drama and conflict.

Two women sit at an outdoor café, engaged in a conversation. The woman in a red jacket gestures emotionally with her hands, appearing frustrated or upset. Two white cups are on the table in front of them, and the background shows an overcast sky and trees.

There’s a part of you that likes the combative back and forth of a disagreement.

And so you aren’t afraid to continue a discussion – particularly a heated one – even when it seems to have ended.

This clearly links back to the two previous points because you will dig your heels in and defend your position to the very end.

7. You do your thinking out loud.

A man in a gray suit and red tie sits on a chair with a laptop on his lap, smiling and talking on the phone. He appears to be in a modern, well-lit room with a neatly made bed in the background.

You find it easier to organize your thoughts and work through things by talking about them.

And so you find someone and you chew their ear off in order to work out your position or come up with a plan of action.

You struggle to get the clarity you need by just thinking about something.

8. You speak when you’re nervous.

A man with short brown hair and glasses is talking on a smartphone. He is wearing a blue button-down shirt and is standing near a window with natural light coming in. There is a blurry view of a bicycle and a plant in the background.

If you are feeling anxious about something, you tend to talk a lot to distract yourself and regain some sort of composure.

Whether when meeting someone new, when you’re unwillingly the center of attention, or because something about your situation makes you genuinely afraid, you talk to both mask and deal with your nerves.

9. You find silence awkward and uncomfortable.

Two men are casually chatting in an office. The man on the left is holding a red notebook, while the man on the right is holding a basketball and pointing. Other people in the background appear to be engaged in conversation. The setting is relaxed and informal.

You are never without some sort of sound in your life, whether that’s background music, the television, the sound of the outside world, or your own voice.

In particular, you hate being in another person’s company and allowing a silence to go on for more than a few seconds.

It leaves you feeling awkward and you believe that, because you feel that way, your conversational partner must do too.

10. You have a mental health condition or neurodivergence.

Two women are standing inside a dimly-lit space with exposed brick walls, each holding and sipping colorful cocktails. They are smiling and appear to be engaged in conversation, creating a warm and relaxed atmosphere.

Excessive talking can be a symptom of various mental health disorders such as Bipolar and Cyclothymia, and neurodivergence such as ADHD and autism.

In these cases the talking is actually hard-wired in your brain and is related to the ability to read and understand neurotypical social cues with regards to turn-taking in conversation.