This always works for me with my wife, who LOVES talking (while I do not).
She'll start yammering about something or other that's rather inconsequential and interrupting my watching the latest episode of Banshee, or the book I'm reading.
So as she drones on with her feckless meandering, I start engaging her. But not in a supportive nurturing husband kind of way.
I'll start cursing, and swearing, and being generally a foul mouthed bastard. She'll then say I'm a foul mouthed bastard, to which point, I say "but I was getting really into that conversation. So sorry. Maybe I just need to calm down for a while."
It works almost flawlessly.
Example:
Wife: "so you know what I heard on the street? I heard that Amy...you know, the Amy who's married to John...well, she cheated on him. Can you believe that? And he's a pastor at their church? Are you kidding me? And now the whole church is calling her a whore, and what's she going to do? Like, she has 4 kids, and John might quit...sweetheart, are you listening to me?
Me: "Oh. My. God. I can't believe that slut spread her legs for some random douche at the church! I have zero respect for her. You know, in Uganda, they set people on fire for doing stuff like that. Just like on that episode of Sons of Anarchy...you know, the one where Gemma gets ploughed in the rear by that pimp because she was tired of Clay smacking her about the face?"
Wife: silence and a look of shock crawls across her face. After a pregnant pause, she eeks out a "wow, that's a lot. You know, I don't appreciate that kind of language. She's still a friend of the family. And you need to keep your voice down, I don't think the kids are asleep yet."
Me: "You know, you're right. I need to go cool off. I didn't think the whole Amy thing would bother me like that. I think I need a bit of quiet time to reflect on that. Sorry about the language sweety...it's just that I can't imagine why any woman would do that."
Conversation over. I go back to my book. Wife understands I don't like cheating spouses, and also enjoy Sons of Anarchy (all true).
You just have to be creative. And a little forethought wouldn't hurt either.