Communication · Executive Insight Brief · 208
Verbal energy or lost control?
Distinguish self-perceived difficulty regulating talk from ordinary verbal energy, observed airtime, and communication competence
Premise
Talking often is not the same as being unable to stop. James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond developed the Talkaholic Scale to measure self-perceived compulsive overcommunication: a persistent tendency to talk more than one believes one should and difficulty exercising restraint when restraint would be preferable.
That narrow definition disciplines a vague complaint. The scale does not count speaking time, capture listener experience, or determine whether someone communicates effectively. It records how respondents describe their own regulation of high verbal output. Any organizational conclusion needs behavioral and contextual evidence alongside it.
What the model is: Talkaholic Scale (TAS) in Knowledge →

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- FamilyTool
- CategoryMeasurement & Assessment Instruments
- DomainConversation & Relationships
What these mean
Editorial orientation · Family
Tool
In this series, Tool names the editorial family primarily used to act on, examine, measure or organize communication. It includes instruments, methods, practices, protocols, codes and institutional arrangements. Membership does not certify effectiveness, portability or safe use in every setting.
Editorial orientation · Category
Measurement & Assessment Instruments
Produces measures, scores, profiles or assessments through defined items, observations or measurement rules. The entry identifies what is measured and the conditions governing interpretation.