What to say when somebody interrupts you at work

‘The main risk with going live on Friday is -’

‘Yes, absolutely. We’ll need to tell the client.’

And off the meeting goes. Somebody volunteers to draft an email. Somebody else asks who’s signing it off. You’re still sitting there with the main risk, which was that nobody would be around over the weekend to fix anything if it went wrong.

Being interrupted is irritating. Perhaps it’s particularly irritating when the person who interrupts you agrees with a point you haven’t made.

So what do you actually say? A good place to start is, ‘Can I just finish that thought?’ Then finish it.

The words are simple enough. Saying them while someone else is already talking though, takes a little practise.

When an enthusiastic colleague jumps in

Some people join in the moment they recognise where a conversation is going. Sometimes they’ve guessed correctly. Sometimes they’ve taken your sentence on a small holiday.

If you’re happy to hear their point once you’ve finished yours, say so:

‘Let me finish this bit, then I’d like to hear what you think.’

Then pick up where you left off. ‘The risk with Friday is that we won’t have anyone on hand if something goes wrong over the weekend.’

How you say it matters. Try the line once with a tight smile and through gritted teeth, then again in the tone you’d use to ask someone to pass the water. Same words. Quite a different invitation to carry on talking afterwards.

When a senior person interrupts you

It can feel harder to hold your ground when the person cutting in is your boss or the most senior person in the room.

If your point affects the decision, name the piece they still need to hear.

‘Before we decide, there’s one risk I haven’t covered.’

Or, if they’ve jumped in with a question you were about to answer:

‘I’ll come to that in a second. There’s one detail that changes the answer.’

Make the detail your next sentence. You’ve asked the room for a moment, and getting straight to the point makes it easier for everyone to give it to you.

When the meeting has already moved on

Sometimes the interruption happens so quickly that by the time you’ve worked out what to say, someone’s sharing their screen and you’re all looking at a spreadsheet.

You can still bring the conversation back:

‘Before we move on, I want to come back to the point about Friday. Who’s available over the weekend if we need to fix something?’

You don’t have to restart your contribution from the beginning. Give the room the part that matters now.

When the same person keeps interrupting you

If it happens regularly, it may be easier to talk about it privately. Pick one example and explain what you’d like to happen next time.

‘In yesterday’s meeting, I was halfway through explaining the risk when the conversation moved on. I’d appreciate being able to finish that point before we open it up for discussion.’

Then give them a chance to respond. They may remember the moment differently. You can still be clear about what would help next time.

Practise the moment after the interruption

As an actor, I’m interested in what happens when someone breaks your rhythm. You might speed up, lose your place or give way before you’ve decided whether you want to. That moment is worth rehearsing.

Here’s a simple exercise I’d use in a coaching session. Ask a colleague to interrupt you halfway through explaining a recommendation. The first time, respond as you usually would. The second time, plant your feet, say ‘Let me finish that thought’ at your normal speaking pace, then go straight back to your point. Ask your colleague where you sounded clearest.

That last part is really worth practising so it becomes habit. It’s easy to rehearse the line that gets you back into the conversation and forget the sentence you wanted to say once you got there.

If there’s a particular meeting or working relationship where you find it hard to get your point across, that’s something we can rehearse together in one-to-one communication coaching.

I offer my coaching online, worldwide and in person in London and Oxford.

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