4 Efficient Ways to Deal with Interruptions
I recently came across a great video by Anita from Word Cortex talking all this interruptions. It inspired this post as I believe she hit the nail on the head with her points. Let’s start at the beginning: Interruptions come in many forms – from a short cut in, to the relentless never ending repeat offender. Very often they can be irritating, annoying or even frustrating. But not all interruptions are equal; not all interruptions are to be considered ‘bad’, and in order to know how to handle them, it’s first important to consider the intention behind them.
1. Well intentioned Interruptions
This is where your interrupter is excited by your idea or what you are saying, and cuts in. This is often a reaction, and an involuntary interruption. This is easy to distinguish by the tone of the person who is interrupting, and is often a show of support or curiosity. Here, it’s best to let them finish and acknowledge their input, and continue. You could say something like: “Thanks for that, Susan, that’s a great point. Let’s circle back to it at the end of the presentation.”
2. Focus shifting Interruptions
Here, the person interrupting changes the topic completely. In this situation, it’s important to note that if you don’t take back control, it will be lost. With that in mind, don’t feed into the change of subject or change of direction – it’s crucial to intervene and explicitly redirect the flow back to your own message. You might address it like this: “Let’s not get side-tracked. I’ve a few more points to make, then we’ll open it up. Is everyone ok if I continue?” Though you are not really asking for permission, you are politely taking back control in order to move forward.
3. Counterproductive Interruptions
This is the “everyone talking over each other” type of interruption, and if you’ve ever been in a meeting like that, you’ll know how unproductive this situation can be. The key here, is to take action before the problem arise. How? Set clear boundaries and expectations early on. At the outset of the meeting, establish the ground rules, and communicate them explicitly. You might say something along the lines of: “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today, and I’m sure we all have our own thoughts to share. I really value everyone’s input and don’t want any ideas to be missed by speaking over each other. With that in mind, I’m going to open the floor for discussion at the end and ask you to note any points you’d like to raise then.” Yes, it’s a little long-winded, but consider this sentence a big investment in the meeting’s organisation and productivity.
4. Chronic Interruptions
While we’ve acknowledged that many interruptions are well intentioned, some are not. In fact, some can be aggressive, or on more rare occasions, bullying in nature. This cannot be ignored, and needs to be addressed with an open and frank conversation – firstly as a team to discuss effective communication strategies, and failing that, as a one-to-one with the ‘offender’. Though the latter may not be desirable, it may be necessary. In such a conversation, keep an open mind, use curious questioning, and separate the person from the habit (interrupting). Who knows, they may not even be aware of the fact that they interrupt! Either way, chronic interruptions cannot be tolerated. Remember:
“The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept.” - David Morrison
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And there you have it – 4 ways to consider using when it comes to interruptions. Irritating as the may be when you are mid-flow, depending on the intention, they may be just the catalyst that’s needed to take the idea to the next level.