Interrupting tells people your next thought matters more than their current one.

GRATITUDE

WHAT THIS MEANS

Cutting in mid sentence delivers a message you did not intend to send, which is that whatever arrived in your head outranks what is coming out of theirs. Most interrupting is not rudeness at all. It is enthusiasm, or fear of losing the thought. The other person cannot see the reason, though, and only feels the door close.

Park the thought instead of spending it immediately. If you are worried about losing it, write three words down. Then let them land the sentence, and whatever you were going to say will be better for having heard the ending.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Who do you cut off most often without meaning to?

MORE IN COMMUNICATION & LANGUAGE

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