How to Get Your Mother Off the Phone

Remind your mother that you need to get off the phone because you're running late for other plans. Talking about a time concern is a successful way to discontinue a conversation, according to psychologist Linda Sapadin in her Psych Central article "8 Ways to Interrupt an Incessant Talker." Perhaps you have to get to baseball practice: You could say, "Mom, I have to get off now or I'll be late for practice." Maybe you have to get to your job: "I only have two more minutes to talk before heading into work."

Let your mother know you have to get off the phone as soon as possible to tend to a slight emergency. Use the urgency of having to go to the restroom when all else fails, Sapadin suggests. Alternatively, tell her something is cooking. "I smell my noodles burning. I really have to get off." Or mention that you have to get back to studying.

Tell your mother that what she is saying would be better discussed in person than on the phone. Making a firm and final statement can end an otherwise never-ending conversation, says Sapadin. Perhaps she is going on about how your room is never clean enough. Say, "I really need to go. I'll have to talk to you about it when I get home, please." Maybe she is confronting you about getting a phone call from your teacher. You could say, "I would rather explain my side of the story about what happened in person."

Be honest with your mom. Just tell her she is talking too much and that you really need to go, according to registered psychologist Jennifer Newman in an article in "The Vancouver Sun." Tell her it causes you great frustration when she calls and rambles on. Perhaps you could say, "It upsets me when you keep talking and I have to do other things," or "I like talking to you, Mom, but I really can not stay on long."