If I could be more influential
I'd like to popularize a gesture.
You don't want to be rude and interrupt when someone's telling you a story they've already told you, but you also don't want to have to listen to the whole thing again. Especially if it's a long one. My friend Paul and I agreed that we were repeating things often enough that it was time to make up a gesture. The one we came up with was to point at our ear and do a little tapping motion. Paired with a smirk, it works great.
I have a feeling it might work even with people who haven't seen it before. At the very least, there's a good chance they'll ask you what you're doing, and you can explain that they've told you the story before. Try it! Let me know how it works.
You don't want to be rude and interrupt when someone's telling you a story they've already told you, but you also don't want to have to listen to the whole thing again. Especially if it's a long one. My friend Paul and I agreed that we were repeating things often enough that it was time to make up a gesture. The one we came up with was to point at our ear and do a little tapping motion. Paired with a smirk, it works great.
I have a feeling it might work even with people who haven't seen it before. At the very least, there's a good chance they'll ask you what you're doing, and you can explain that they've told you the story before. Try it! Let me know how it works.