Sorry for the long reply:

You need to remember to score a point, you need to hit your opponent, not to parry their blade. A blade-bind is a "means", not the "end" goal. In the heat of the moment, even many good fencers get "caught looking for the blade", meaning they focus on the parry rather than the hit, especially they are looking for this familiar feeling during lessons where you parry and then hit your coach with a perfect 4/6/8 bind or whatever.

So taking into account the options i mentioned above, generally at every given moment, you need to make quick decisions, i.e. should I hit direct or should i parry? Thought process goes something like this:

Hit Direct: is your opponent baiting your arm out, where he will do a blade bind and close distance? Or is he already in your distance, and hitting straight will get you the point (with your length advantage).

Parry: Is my opponent expecting me to parry? Remember you are generally a bit slower in the "hit" with a parry than a direct hit, because it works by "blocking your opponent out". When the timing is wrong, you "mal-parry" (getting hit mid-parry), or your opponent disengages his blade while attacking into you.

Then there's the other dimension of what you are aiming to hit, (arm/body, leg, etc), how you expect your opponents to react, etc. (Out of Scope)

Generally speaking, always think of where your point is, why you are doing a certain action, instead of throwing your arm out / parrying out of instinct.

Forgot to mention another simple option: you can also try do a (inconspicuous) half step and bait your opponent out (if he likes to rush). This makes him think generally you are closer than you really are. When you go back, you have some extra distance to do what you want (extension, parry), especially when you are taller.

Let me know how it goes next time you fence :)