To ask for tips about how to stop babbling?

[RandomMcRandomface]

Not a TAAT, but inspired by one.

I babble far too much, especially when nervous, and when with people I don't know well am constantly regretting things I have said simply to fill the silence. I often feel like a bit of a dick - esp when socially insecure - and wish that my mouth and brain were better connected.

I envy people with quiet dignity!

Are there any reformed babblers out there? If so, what are your tips to stop blabbering on and on?

I say to myself "It's OK, silence is OK, I don't need to fill a silence." Sometimes I have to repeat it over and over in my head, focussing so hard on it that I occasionally miss the moment when the conversation begins again. But it does get easier with practice.

What I mean is a that I recognise that I'm under stress at that moment, and the cause of the stress. I don't brush it off.

I like that life - silence is OK. One person I spoke to also looked at a clock and would challenge themselves not to talk for 10 minutes unless directly addressed which is another idea