I think the only particularly wrong thing to do is go “I’ve already heard this.” and try to kill the conversation. After that, filling stuff in but as questions has worked for me. You can even say “I think I’ve heard this one before but go on, I forget some stuff” and that might change how they tell it but not make them feel like you don’t want to hear something they wanted to tell you about.
This. I hear the same stories a lot, but I’m shit at remembering details. So that’s what I say. People are happy to recount old stories, and I’m happy to hear them over and over again. Hasn’t produced a problem so far.
I think the only particularly wrong thing to do is go “I’ve already heard this.” and try to kill the conversation. After that, filling stuff in but as questions has worked for me. You can even say “I think I’ve heard this one before but go on, I forget some stuff” and that might change how they tell it but not make them feel like you don’t want to hear something they wanted to tell you about.
This. I hear the same stories a lot, but I’m shit at remembering details. So that’s what I say. People are happy to recount old stories, and I’m happy to hear them over and over again. Hasn’t produced a problem so far.