The “Interrupter”
“Darlene on my team continues to interrupt when others are talking, what do I do?”
Oh, the interrupter, we have all had to deal with them on our teams, in our companies and in meetings.
As soon as the meeting ends, ask Darlene to stay for a few minutes.
You need to ask for what you want. If you want to find out why she continues to interrupt, then you must ask her why she does that.
What and how to ask:
I have noticed that you interrupt when others are speaking at every meeting. What are you not getting from me or others on the team that has you doing this?
Why do you interrupt when others are talking?
Is there something I can do to help so you stop interrupting when others are speaking?
How do you suggest we change the meeting so that you feel you are getting your chance to speak?
We need these meetings to be as productive as possible, what can we do differently?
Tip: Set, communicate, and enforce ground rules for meetings.
While we are discussing communication in meetings, let us briefly discuss the “rambler.” If you have a time sucking “rambler” on your team, the best thing to do is put a time limit each person can share. If this is too structured for your company, then I suggest you say, “I bet you have quite a bit more to share but out of respect for everyone, we are going to have to move to the next person. Thanks for understanding.” Then move to the next person.
CHEERS to directly communicating what you need!
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