This is a situation I'm sure everyone's experienced; it's not earth-shattering but then most things aren't.

You're talking with someone and they start telling you a story they've told you before. Do you stop them or just let them retell the story?

If it's a good or brief story, by all means let them retell.
Otherwise you might hint at faintly remembering hearing something like that before, but of course it won't do to groan and beg not to have to sit through that old story again.

I pretend to guess parts of the story along the way, goading them to new heights of enthusiasm.

It depends.
If I am offered an option I am truthful. "Have you heard about Charles?" "Yes, I have heard that not long ago."
If I am not offered an option I make a split second decision similar to Legolas. Is it worth interupting? Might there be variation? Is this a person who are generally good at delivering a story (and hence able to make something out of nothing)? And if I do interupt it is also in a curtious manour. "..that reminds me that airlines are now..." "Pardon, but I think I know what you are aiming at...".

Depends who it is obviously. My gran (being 82) is cool cos she KNOWS she tends to tell things over and over again, but she always says, "if I've told you before, let me know" and I do, and she's cool about it. lol.

If it's a mate, I'd probably joke about it and say they're getting senile and of course tell them that they've already told me. I tell so many stories to so many people, I must sometime repeat myself too, so I basically avoid putting them in an awkward situation by always asking beforehand: "have I told you that one about..." and then stopping if they say "yeah".

Yeps depends on who it is... and ofcourse the story... [img]smile.gif[/img]

If it's other people. I'll tell them that they've told me that story before. If it's my mum I'll just listen quietly and agrees to whatever she was talking about, no choice really, since I can never defeat her in an argument.

If someone's recounting their story with obvious relish and that sort of self-satisfied smugness that comes with an upcoming laugh, I'll let them re-tell it. If the story's bland to all concerned I'll be like "heh, yeah.. I remember you mentioning that."

Usually if it sounds familier I cut in early with I think you told me this one already, but keep going just so I can check. If it is short/funny I will let them finish it and tell them after that they had already told me but since it was "a good one" I didnt mind hearing it again. Otherwise I cut in and let them know.

If it's a good/short story, by all means let them tell it. If you have no wish to hear it again, then what I like to do is say "Oh yeah, you told me that!" The key is to sound like I'm just remembering hearing it, like I had forgotten I'd heard the story. That way it's not like "Yes, you told me." but more along the lines of "Oh, look at us, forgetting things all over. No worries, though."

Ugh, there's a guy at work who tells us the same crappy stories 10 times each night. I usually just grit my teeth and say in my kindest, gentlest voice possible 'no, you didn't tell me about that.', and then he spews forth his usual nonsense.

The problem I've found with letting them retell it is when they get part-way through and then the penny suddenly drops and they go "I've told you this before, haven't I...". Embarrassing for both parties.

On the other hand, it can be very deflating to be about to recount something that you find interesting/exciting/etc. and the other person to boredly interrupt with "yeah you've told me".

I don't reckon telling anyone that "you've heard this story before" is considered bad etiquette. Of course, you don't have to yell in their faces that you've heard it before, but I usually just tell them. No big deal.

Everyone does it with me as well (or I start out, and realise that I've told the story before) :D