If you see them coming, grab the phone and pretend to be talking to someone, then don't look up when they come your way. Lampton says he knows a man who immediately puts on headphones on an airplane, even though he listens to nothing. This keeps others from talking to him. But what if the gabber is your boss?

"That's even more reason to say you're busy working on the project, so ask if you can talk later, or what is critical to be discussed immediately," Lampton says.

The Productivity Institute estimates that 20 percent of the average workday is spent on "crucial" and "important" things, while 80 percent is spent on things that have "little value" or "no value." Eliminating even one motormouth in one meeting can provide relief.

Says Lampton: "If you've got a person that just talks and talks, interrupt him and say, `That sounds like a fine idea. We don't have time for discussing it further now, so please summarize your suggestion in writing later today. Nothing elaborate, just a one or two page outline of your plan. Now, I think someone else had something for consideration...'‚"

Enough said.