What To Do When You Are Interrupted

When you are speaking and someone interrupts you, stop speaking. Don’t be insulted. Don’t be angry that you didn’t get to finish your thought. And don’t talk over them. Stop speaking and let the person you are speaking with have the floor.

If someone interrupts you, it could be that they are so excited to share something that they can’t restrain themselves. Let them share what they want to share.

The person interrupting you may not agree with what you are saying. They may interrupt you so that they can disagree. Yield the floor and let them share their disagreement. They may not be able to really listen until they speak their mind.

The person that decides to speak over you may not really be interested in what you are saying. They may interrupt you so that they can move forward to something that interests them. Let them say what they need to say.

Sometimes you may be being interrupted because the person to whom you are speaking simply fears that they won’t have an opportunity to respond, or that they’ll forget what they wanted to say.

The best thing you can do when interrupted is to allow the other person to talk. When they finish speaking, you can pick up right where you left off and finish your thought. Or, you can simply move on to some other topic.

The answer to someone talking over you isn’t talking over them. The answer is listening.