Do you have any friends that try to second guess everything you say?

I think my husband sees me like this. Maybe not as extreme as your friend, but I’m trying to close my mouth and let him finish sentences more. Lol. One difference is I’m usually right, but he still wants the chance to get his sentences out.

With my girlfriends who are like this I don’t care. We all run all over each other’s sentences and move the conversation along once we realize the other person is reading our minds.

I have a friend who does that and I have been accused of it myself – justifiably. I read in a Deborah Tannen book that it is called a “high involvement” style of communication. It’s not meant to be rude but is partly a cultural style. I am Jewish, my Ex was English: he hated the fact that I wouldn’t let him tell his whole story before jumping in.

Not exactly but I know what you mean and I am sure it is frustrating at times. Maybe just gently tell her, ask her, to please let you complete your thoughts/sentences before jumping to conclusions. If she is mature she should be able to offer an apology and start monitoring herself with some self awareness moments. haha
I have one friend that is more the assumptive type and often tells me things I already know.

Even if I tell her I have already researched something she tends to go on and on and will send me more info. She sounds like your friend in the sense that she too is very bright and has a wealth of knowledge about many things. but hellooooo, so do I. haha
I usually just shrug it off but it can be annoying.

Smart people often have a habit of trying to move the conversation along at the rate things proceed in their head. If this woman is really your friend, you should tell her of her annoying quirk (you can bet she’s heard it before), then suggest she work hard on the patience involved with listening.

I don’t know…how would she react if you printed your details out and showed them to her?

My husband does this to me too and I’m pretty sure I probably do it back. We’re so familiar with each other and our individual thought patterns that we unconsciously fill in the blanks when we’re having a conversation. Mostly we don’t annoy each other, but there are occasions when one or the other guesses wrong and it can be downright annoying. I’m a cranky cow so I get shirty when it happens. My husband is less cranky so he just corrects me. Advice for what to do? If you’re good friends, just talk to her about it. I wouldn’t do it when you’re cranky about it. Wait for a quiet moment and explain that it irritates you and see if she’s even aware she’s doing it. If she’s a nice person, and you say she is, I’m sure she’ll try to avoid it in future. It might be difficult if you’re both close and in tune with each other. She may just get too excited and involved in the conversations you’re having.

I myself am guilty of doing that sometimes, although not to the same degree, but I have very clearly annoyed people. Which of course immediately hurts my feelings (because I’m a baby :P) because I wasn’t trying to be rude or annoying.

If your friend is like me, she probably does it most when she’s taking an actual active interest in the conversation. I’d start there with something like “I’m really glad you’re interested in what I’m talking to you about, but I need you to shush for a minute so I can get to the point”, and then laugh a little and make sure she knows you’re not mad, just amused at her quirkiness. I know I handle it okay when people point it out to me – as long as they don’t snap at me or assume it’s because I’m trying to be some kind of know-it-all. In those situations, it genuinely hurts.

Good luck. Hopefully she takes it alright.

Thanks @everybody. I think @janbb hit the nail on the head and @DrasticDreamer‘s idea might work best for me. I adore this friend and she definitely doesn’t do it to be rude, her mind just runs a mile a minute. I admire her intelligence and wish I had more of that, myself.

@DrasticDreamer Great point! My husband sometimes says to me, “you aren’t listening to me,” and my response is, “I am
listening, how else can I actively be asking you questions about what you are telling me and finishing your sentences?” He’s right that I can’t be listening if I’m talking, but if I was completely checked out of the conversation I would be saying nothing or just nodding my head with an occasional uh huh to act engaged like he sometimes does to me. Lol.

@JLeslie—Exactly. I love my best friend, but sometimes I find myself checking out of her conversations because she can go on about a TV show (or something similar that I have no interest in) and the only thing I’ll say is “yeah” and “uh huh” which is usually a clear indication that my mind is wandering. lol

I have a friend who is extremely excited about her hobby of furniture painting. She’s very gifted, no doubt, but she can talk for an hour about this piece and where she got it, and how she decided to do what she did and on and on and on.