You need to know when to interrupt in order to have good listening skills and build effective work relationships. Most leaders and professionals need to cultivate the skill of interrupting when needed.

You probably think that interrupting is bad listening. Often it is. We think it is bad, but we go ahead and do it. What does that say about us? Ponder the reasons you sometimes interrupt. Interrupting often spoils communication, but on some occasions it may be helpful to interrupt.

Are you interrupting because you are sure that your view is better and you can’t wait to show the other person why that is so? How do they react? Do they try to wrestle back the right to keep on speaking? Do they sometimes resume speaking as if you had said nothing? In that case, they were probably more focused on their rejoinder than on what you were saying.

Do you interrupt because you have become bored? You think the other person is off base or just not relevant to your needs? Rather than daydream or get annoyed, break into the conversation in order to redirect it to a more useful topic. Try to find a topic that is still within their range of competence. It is off putting if you switch topics to one of your own favorites that they know little about.

When you are tempted to interrupt, ask yourself why? If your reason is purely self-serving such as to look good and be bright, try some self-management first. Coach yourself to search for a good question to ask. That will occupy your mind for a while, and maybe keep you out of trouble.

If your reason is you no longer want to hear about this topic, try interrupting as I said above to refocus the person on a different topic that they are interested in. Do this with a question such as,”In what way do you feel your approach will benefit our group?” “What makes this approach seem so important to you?”

If you interrupt in a way that keeps the spotlight on the other person, they will never get annoyed at you. Usually, they shift into the new topic. However, if you try to grab the spotlight from them and change the topic to one of yours so that you can hold forth, they may get annoyed.

If you want to be effective in your leadership or professional situations, learn when to interrupt. This will pay off.

Listening skills is a full Module of my
Self-Study Program, and my Virtual Workshop Series,
Leadership Communication™. My individual and group executive coaching enhance listening skills for better performance. Please see my home page, EagleAlliance.com