Someone dominates a conversation by not letting others get a word in. I'm thinking its a combination of snow job and fillibuster (though not political in nature).
EDIT: to clarify, Not quite a long tedious speech; Speaker prompts a response but doesnt actually allow the response to be heard because the speaker begins talking again as if the response was heard.
I would say "He monopolised the conversation"
or "Insisted on taking centre stage the whole time"
I have also heard family members say "He was holding court" - which I think is a commonly used sarcastic reference to the way a Judge commands the attention of everyone in court .
Monologue is a good general descriptor:
1.1 A long, tedious speech by one person during a conversation:
ODO
Depending on the content of the domination, lecture might work better
2 A long serious speech, especially one given as a scolding or reprimand:
ODO
The idiom hold forth implies talking for a long time about a subject that interests the speaker but not necessarily the audience.
Hold forth: to talk at great length; harangue
When we left, he was still holding forth on World War II.
I first came across this phrase in Stephen King's novel The Tommyknockers, where it's used to describe a character drunkenly ranting about nuclear power long after everyone else at the party wished he'd stop.
Palaver has a broad range of connotations, but it's basically a long talk:
noun
[MASS NOUN] 1 Prolonged and tedious fuss or discussion:
The Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary reveals the broad usage in various contexts:
n.
1. profuse and idle talk; chatter.
2. persuasive talk; flattery; cajolery.
3. a conference or discussion, orig. one between European traders, explorers, etc., and people indigenous to a region, esp. in Africa.v.i.
4. to talk profusely and idly.
5. to confer.v.t.
6. to cajole or persuade.
The OP seems to be looking toward the second noun definition with connotations from verbal definition 6, and a hint of verbal definition 4. If there is a pretense of conversation, palaver is particularly useful.
Gab tends toward idle chatter but might work:
noun
[MASS NOUN]
Talk; chatter:
There is bulldozing in slang.
The act of completely dominating a conversation, whether amongst a crowd or an intimate conversation. the "Bulldozer" can be anyone, inebriated or not, so long as everyone else that has something can't, simply because the said person just talks louder to drown them out.
adj.
- Given to excessive and often trivial or rambling talk; tiresomely talkative.
- Wordy and rambling: a garrulous speech.
For me, "monopolize" comes to mind immediately and seems to the point and most appropriate without going overboard or being bullish.
There are those who seem naturally adept at monopolizing conversations by raising their voice just as someone begins to speak, interact or add information.
Domineering. "I have bookclub tonight and really hope that domineering woman is not there."
Domineering was the first that came to mind, and is synonymous with overbearing. Domineering seems to equate best with ".. dominates the .."
Pontification is a good fit here
to speak or express opinions in a pompous or dogmatic way
Loquacious Also from Merriam-Webster,
full of excessive talk : wordy
Aaaaand one emore:
Bloviate
to speak or write verbosely and windily
Noun
- someone who talks incessantly; "I wish that motormouth would shut up"
To address the detail you added in your edit, an insincere prompt for response is often called a rhetorical question. This is a question designed not to solicit information that might change the course of the conversation, but to guide the listener to ask themselves the question and formulate an answer internally. The asker might then proceed to specify the answer they believe to be best and discuss it as part of the point they're trying to reach. For this to work, the rhetorical question tends to be simple and common-sensical, ideally requiring at most trivial reasoning to answer.
After the brief initial exchange on the phone call, Buzz commandeered the conversation in his typical monologue fashion.
The word "screed" is defined as a "long, monotonous harangue" and is similar to some of the suggestions made here.
"We tired of listening to his screed."
To "pontificate" also carries the connotation of blabbing on and on while monopolizing the conversation.
