{"id":149,"date":"2011-01-11T14:53:03","date_gmt":"2011-01-11T19:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smartleadership.wordpress.com\/?p=149"},"modified":"2024-05-27T12:49:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T17:49:12","slug":"interruptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/interruptions\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Interruptions Be Pardoned?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"149\" class=\"elementor elementor-149\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-42286be elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"42286be\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-9967aa6\" data-id=\"9967aa6\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d6da9e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-template\" data-id=\"d6da9e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"template.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-template\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"section\" data-elementor-id=\"12411\" class=\"elementor elementor-12411\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1255d61 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-content-middle elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1255d61\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6264de3\" data-id=\"6264de3\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-61125fc elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"61125fc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Should Interruptions Be Pardoned?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c1117e elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"2c1117e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-fcfa45b elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/author\/lbwebmaster\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-far-user-circle\" viewBox=\"0 0 496 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M248 104c-53 0-96 43-96 96s43 96 96 96 96-43 96-96-43-96-96-96zm0 144c-26.5 0-48-21.5-48-48s21.5-48 48-48 48 21.5 48 48-21.5 48-48 48zm0-240C111 8 0 119 0 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S385 8 248 8zm0 448c-49.7 0-95.1-18.3-130.1-48.4 14.9-23 40.4-38.6 69.6-39.5 20.8 6.4 40.6 9.6 60.5 9.6s39.7-3.1 60.5-9.6c29.2 1 54.7 16.5 69.6 39.5-35 30.1-80.4 48.4-130.1 48.4zm162.7-84.1c-24.4-31.4-62.1-51.9-105.1-51.9-10.2 0-26 9.6-57.6 9.6-31.5 0-47.4-9.6-57.6-9.6-42.9 0-80.6 20.5-105.1 51.9C61.9 339.2 48 299.2 48 256c0-110.3 89.7-200 200-200s200 89.7 200 200c0 43.2-13.9 83.2-37.3 115.9z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTom Lemanski\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-64a3176 elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/2011\/01\/11\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-calendar\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M12 192h424c6.6 0 12 5.4 12 12v260c0 26.5-21.5 48-48 48H48c-26.5 0-48-21.5-48-48V204c0-6.6 5.4-12 12-12zm436-44v-36c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48h-48V12c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v52H160V12c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v52H48C21.5 64 0 85.5 0 112v36c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h424c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time>January 11, 2011<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-9c8288a elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"commentCount\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/interruptions\/#comments\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-far-comment-dots\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M144 208c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zm112 0c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zm112 0c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zM256 32C114.6 32 0 125.1 0 240c0 47.6 19.9 91.2 52.9 126.3C38 405.7 7 439.1 6.5 439.5c-6.6 7-8.4 17.2-4.6 26S14.4 480 24 480c61.5 0 110-25.7 139.1-46.3C192 442.8 223.2 448 256 448c141.4 0 256-93.1 256-208S397.4 32 256 32zm0 368c-26.7 0-53.1-4.1-78.4-12.1l-22.7-7.2-19.5 13.8c-14.3 10.1-33.9 21.4-57.5 29 7.3-12.1 14.4-25.7 19.9-40.2l10.6-28.1-20.6-21.8C69.7 314.1 48 282.2 48 240c0-88.2 93.3-160 208-160s208 71.8 208 160-93.3 160-208 160z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-comments\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9 Comments\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a17d19d elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"a17d19d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"text-align:center;\u201d>\r\n<span class=\"bsf-rt-reading-time\"><span class=\"bsf-rt-display-label\" prefix=\"Reading Time\">\n\t\t<\/span> <span class=\"bsf-rt-display-time\" reading_time=\"3\"><\/span> \n\t\t<span class=\"bsf-rt-display-postfix\" postfix=\"mins\"><\/span><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-70a0327\" data-id=\"70a0327\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-228f411 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-featured-image elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"228f411\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-featured-image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/can-com350-qon9icg6aef5x4qma1zgvuytktgvlrkjyewv9b7k00.jpg\" title=\"can-com350\" alt=\"Primitive Communication\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-21d2ee02 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"21d2ee02\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-622966f8\" data-id=\"622966f8\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3babd04c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3babd04c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" title=\"can-com\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/can-com.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"160\">No one can deny that verbal communication skills are vital for effective leadership. They are a are staple skill requirements for nearly every job posting and in turn, touted on resumes. Employers all demand them. Job seekers all <em>claim <\/em>to have them. Who are we kidding? There&#8217;s a skills gap between what&#8217;s really needed and what most people have. So, let&#8217;s explore one of the biggest sins of conversational communication: <strong>The interruption<\/strong>.<\/p><h3>Why should you avoid interrupting as if your career depends on it?<\/h3><p>Let&#8217;s begin by understanding that <strong>the purpose of communication is to effect some sort of behavioral response<\/strong>. So, your discussions are supposed to be about <em><strong>influencing other people<\/strong><\/em> to act, think and\/or feel. How do others feel about both you and your message when you&#8217;re guilty of this communication crime? Are you supporting or defeating your purpose?<\/p><h3>What typically occurs when you interrupt a speaker?<\/h3><ul><li>You imply that your intruding message is more important than theirs. So much for respect and rapport.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>According to studies, your discussion will typically take about 20% longer as interrupted speakers feel a need to take even more time to drive home their point when they feel misunderstood.<\/li><\/ul><p>So much for skillful, efficient, rapport building communication.<\/p><h4>If you truly want to influence others to your point of view&#8230;<\/h4><ul><li>Remember Stephen Covey&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">Habit #5:<\/a><em>&#8220;First Seek to Understand, then to be understood<\/em>&#8220;. You need to demonstrate your understanding before <em><strong>earning<\/strong><\/em> the right to shape others&#8217; views.<\/li><li>Realize that exceptional talkers are a dime a dozen. Exceptional listeners are rare and treasured individuals.<\/li><li>Ask yourself: Which is a more valuable influencing skill: being <em><strong>interesting<\/strong><\/em> or <strong><em>interested<\/em><\/strong>? If you answered &#8220;<em>interesting<\/em>&#8220;, congratulations! You&#8217;re a dime a dozen.<\/li><\/ul><h3><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"margin: 8px 10px;\" title=\"Shooter\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/shoot.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"128\" height=\"202\"><\/strong>Ready, Aim&#8230;<\/h3><p>So the next time you&#8217;re locked, loaded and ready to shoot down a speaker to inject your &#8220;interesting&#8221;, important insight, just know that you&#8217;ll most likely shoot yourself in the foot.<\/p><h3>Exceptions to the rule?<\/h3><p>I can think of a few. If we remember that our purpose is to effect some sort of behavioral response, there are some occasions when the desired response is to stop the flow of expression.<\/p><p>Some of our aforementioned <em>exceptional talkers<\/em> don&#8217;t know when to stop and may need your help. In that case, you might politely acknowledge that you &#8220;get it&#8221;. Or sometimes you never will &#8220;get it&#8221; and it&#8217;s just time to move on. You may need to put your time ahead of the speakers feelings. Just be aware of the potential damage and be tactful, even apologetic with your <em>violation<\/em> of their status.<\/p><p>Or, sometimes you have questions that are critical to understanding the other person&#8217;s point of view. In the case of asking for clarification, it is not disrespectful. It demonstrates that you&#8217;re <strong><em>interested<\/em><\/strong>. But use this interruption excuse with discretion. Misuse of this liberty could prove you&#8217;re just not listening.<\/p><h3>How Wrong Is It?<\/h3><p>Now that I&#8217;ve had my say, I&#8217;d be honored to learn your thoughts and comments. Since we&#8217;re writing, there&#8217;s no risk of my interruption. Yes, I occasionally must plead guilty. I admit that sometimes my eagerness to make a point gets the best of me. But, I <em>am <\/em>improving and striving to become one of those rare, exceptional listeners. While <em>interruption abstinence<\/em> may be a simple concept, old habits die hard. This is especially true if you embrace the <em>tongue-in-cheek<\/em> mindset of Mark Twain:<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>&#8220;There is nothing so annoying as to have two people talking when you&#8217;re busy interrupting<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p><div id=\"_mcePaste\" class=\"mcePaste\" style=\"position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 39px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;\">Strong verbal communication skills are staple skill requirement for nearly every job posting and in turn, included on listed resumes. Employers all want them. Job seekers all claim to have them. There must be a gap. Let&#8217;s explore one of the biggest sins of conversational communication: The interruption. Why is this potentially so offensive and why should you avoid it as if your career depends on it?<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Strong communication skills: Employers all want them. Job seekers all claim to have them.  Still there&#8217;s a gap. To chip away at the problem let&#8217;s explore one of the biggest sins of conversational communication: The interruption.   Why is this potentially so offensive? And, why should you avoid it as if your success depends on it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[283,38,39],"class_list":["post-149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication-skills","category-listening-skill","tag-communication-skills","tag-interruptions","tag-linkedin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/can-com350.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1I2Yr-2p","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}