Dealing with Interrupters

As a part of good listening, we all know we’re not supposed to interrupt someone when they’re talking. It doesn’t matter whether we’re bored with the pace or the topic or even if we’re afraid we’ll forget what we’re going to say. Stepping on the speaker’s sentence is a no-no.

But what about when the tables are turned and you’re the one interrupted. What should you do? Like most things, what you say & how you say it is situation dependent.

Here are 4 options for dealing with those who interrupt you:

1. Ignore it – If the interruption occurs when you’re talking about non-business or non-important stuff, or if you’ve been interrupting as well, you can just let it slide. No harm, no foul.

2. Gently let them know – If you want to remind this person, in a gracious way, that they’ve overstepped, you can say, “If you don’t mind letting me finish, then I’d love to hear what you have to say.”

3. Firmly let them know – When you’re trying to make an important point, or you’ve been interrupted multiple times in this conversation, you could say with a more stern, yet still polite voice, “Please allow me to finish.” Or, “Excuse me, do you mind if I finish my thought?”

4. Sarcastically (& potentially dangerously) let them know – If you know they have a good sense of humor or you’ve had enough of this nonsense, you say, “Oh, I’m sorry, did the middle of my sentence interrupt the beginning of yours?”

By the way, are you attracted to option #4 like I am? Even when professional 99% of the time, I still have an appreciation for that middle school smart aleck hiding beneath the surface.

Have a great day!