When someone tells you that you have already told them something

[Anonymous]

Is this rude? I usually don't tell people when this happens. I'm especially sensitive if they're telling me a happy story.

[Anonymous]

Depends how it's phrased. If I can tell someone is about to launch into a story I have already heard, I may say something like 'oh right, you mentioned something about that, your aunt had a falling out with her son and he moved in with the girlfriend and blah blah blah' so they can jump right to the update to the story. If it's something minor, I wouldn't say anything, like if a friend tells me for the second time that they just got new carpet and it's amazing. It's hard to keep track of everything I say to everyone so I am sure I have repeated myself many many times.

I do think it's rude to say something like 'yes, you already told me that!'

[Anonymous]

Are you repeatedly telling the story about how you got Shania Twain to eat a food she didn't like?

BTW it's rude, but I know I've done said it to my mom. My kids say it to me. Circle of life?

[Anonymous]

I don't usually say anything. People tend to have stories they retell. Why be rude?

I must say, I'm fine with people telling me if I already told a story. I'd rather not be THAT person. I think most people would be a little hurt, though.

[Anonymous]

I try to keep stories very short and if I think I've told it before, I preface it with stop me if you've heard this already. I don't mind hearing a quick story again but if someone is longwinded.....

[Anonymous]

It is very rude.

[Anonymous]

Eh, depends. If you're hearing this a lot, you are probably the problem. How old are you?

[Anonymous]

It's very rude.

[Anonymous]

If I have barely any memory left, it doesn't surprise me if I've already told someone something. Why would I be offended when they inform me that we've already been there, done that? I don't wear my heart on my sleeve. They're just being honest.

[Anonymous]

I usually don't say anything. DH will tell me, and I find it very rude.

[Anonymous]

My sister in law will go into 20 min stories that she has already spent 20 minutes telling me. Twice. Or three times. She tells loooong stories on the way to making a much bigger point. It's always on the way to making a much bigger point, usually about things others have done to annoy her. She's funny and charming and I will listen to her tell stories over and over. When I have time. If we have only an hour for lunch, I might say, oh yeah, you told me your mom did that thing, and it speeds her up.
There is a kind and gracious way to do this by the way, by nodding, mirroring their emotions, "oh yeah, you told me!" So that people can move on to the rest of the story. However, if it's something that I sense they really need to re-tell for their own emotional purge, I will patiently listen again. In that case there is almost an acknowledgement that we ton know they've told the story and I'm just listening to be with them in whatever they're experiencing emotionally.
To sum, it is not always rude to tell someone you've heard this story before.

[Anonymous]

My grandma will tell some stories over and over ...
At times I listen, at other times I tell her I've heard it before.
She knows it but she's happy to tell it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I usually don't say anything. DH will tell me, and I find it very rude.

I find it rude to make someone listen to the same story twice. Is your ego so fragile it's more important that the other person stay silent?

[Anonymous]

My mom does this but not about stories. She'll ask questions, not listen, and then ask them again next time we talk.

[Anonymous]

I enthusiastically say "yes! you told me this! It was so funny!"