Reading line-by-line.

There's not many more satisfying ways to shut down a ramble and get someone to focus on the conversation than answering rhetorical questions and placeholder sounds. Yesterday, someone was trying to communicate something to me and doing a pretty bad job of it, and when she said, "You know what I mean," I told her, "No, I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean."

Then she stopped, explained herself, and we could exchange ideas and move on.

I know she wasn't asking a question. I also knew I didn't know what she meant, so I had better make sure she was aware of that.

Sometimes saying "yes" helps move a conversation along quickly and gets everyone to the next point. And sometimes, saying "no" really forces them to figure out what they meant!