Constantly being interrupted in meetings

15 Comments

1. Donna KusnierczykJanuary 25,2025 at 7:02PM UTC

   I'd talk with him privately once and let him know its not acceptable to continually interrupt you or anyone else in meetings. If he continues, the way you handled before was perfect.

2. Coach Nancie Kay ShumanJanuary 25,2025 at 7:44PM UTC

   Who is the chair of the meeting? Maybe get them on board with saying, Jeff, we are excited to hear about your event, but Mel has th efloor at this time. We will get to you soon.

   Also, this is where having a written agenda, including who is presenting when, is helpful.

3. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJanuary 26,2025 at 1:59AM UTC

   My recommendation would be to do what you did the second time the first time he tries this nonsense.

   He did it again because he got away with it the first time. When you pushed back, he stopped. My guess is a couple more times of putting him in his place and he'll stop interrupting you.

4. AnonymousJanuary 26,2025 at 3:01AM UTC

   I'm glad you handled it well. Keep asserting yourself to correct the behavior. Others may have noticed him doing this to you. Train him how to treat you from the very beginning and be consistent. Hopefully, he understands.

5. Alexis GladstoneJanuary 26,2025 at 1:47PM UTC

   Good for you. You did exactly the right thing. Next time, I would do what you did the first time.

   Here is another strategy if you need it. If there is someone else who is in these meetings that you trust, ask them if they would be willing to step and and say, "Let's let Susie finish what she is saying" or "Susie is talking, let her finish."

   I've done both depending on the circumstances.

6. AnonymousJanuary 26,2025 at 2:17PM UTC

   I Imagine most, if not all, of us we have had similar experiences with this.

   Sounds like you handled this very well.

   When it’s a very recent graduate who is both eager and…clueless and entitled…doing exactly as you did is great. He may also be inept at determining what is the right time/place to present his ideas and I’m sure he is eager to share and receive praise. His supervisor may not be giving him enough feedback and he attempted to grab the mic.

   It’s a bit of a life transition to go from college (gold stars for opinions) to the working world (where he needs to contribute to existing teams and it may take time to perceive the dynamics). I have also noticed some of the recent grad college males have something like this going on.

7. Meghan RoadJanuary 26,2025 at 2:18PM UTC

   create an agenda - the it’s clear what the topic order is

8. GirlBossanova934974January 26,2025 at 2:55PM UTC

   I think you have already answered your own question. Second, I would leave out the gender issue. You are dealing with a very inexperienced employee who is acting out of turn and doesn't know it. If you really want to delve deeper, you may wish to examine your own hiring process! The simple solution is to "take this offline" and let the new employee know that company meetings are run via AGENDAS. Everybody gets their pre-assigned time slot to say what they will AND other employees should NOT BE CHIMING IN with their agenda item in the middle of someone else's time! GET IT? Yea. Here is your time slot and stick to it.

9. Barb HansenJanuary 26,2025 at 5:12PM UTC

   It really depends on the situation.

   If I’m in a free-flowing brainstorming session where everyone is jumping in and out of the conversation, I usually let interruptions slide. But if I have something important to share, I’ll interrupt right back, saying, “Bob, I just need one more minute to finish my point, and then you can jump in.”

   If I’m presenting or the meeting isn’t a brainstorming session, and someone interrupts me, I don’t stop talking. Just because someone starts talking doesn’t mean I have to stop. If they keep going, I’ll call them out directly, like, “Bob, don’t interrupt me" or "Bob, I had the floor, you can wait"

   If it becomes a pattern and someone interrupts me regularly, I’ll have a conversation with them outside of the meeting. I’ll ask them why they keep interrupting me. Sometimes people don’t even realize they’re doing it, and addressing it directly can solve the problem. At the very least, they’ll know that I notice the interruptions, and I’m not going to let it slide anymore.

10. Julie EJanuary 26,2025 at 5:29PM UTC

    If you don’t already, have whoever is running the meeting create an agenda. Then if he interrupts, point, the attendance is not your turn yet Bob jokingly. I would be tempted to pull them aside and let him know that what he is doing is not OK and that he needs to let you and anyone else finish speaking and not interrupt.

11. AnonymousJanuary 26,2025 at 10:42PM UTC

    Oh yeah we have one of those on our team. Huge ego and he’s the only one feeding it. What I say when I’m interrupted is this “hang on one second please and let me finish my thought.” Or “I appreciate your eagerness but I’d like to finish my thought.” Truly, the leader should interject and say “Bob, let Susan finish her thoughts then you can share yours.” I’ve been interrupted by both men and women. A good leader pays attention but a great leader moderates.

12. Liz MilneJanuary 26,2025 at 11:02PM UTC

    Keep calling him out, and get more exasperated with him each time:

    • Can you not hear that I am actively talking?
    • Can you not wait for me to be done?
    • It is extremely rude of you to constantly interrupt me in the way you do

    etc - until he gets the message. And if he tries to turn it on you, saying you're rude/ mean, etc, say, yes, I'm sure my refusal to let you interrupt me and waste my time seems rude to you. -_-

    Failing the above, speak to whoever he directly reports to, and tell them to control him better?

13. Vanessa LontocJanuary 27,2025 at 1:59AM UTC

    I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this. It is frustrating when you're interrupted, especially in a professional setting. It sounds like you handled the situation well by assertively stating that you needed to finish your point.

    It's possible he's still adjusting to the company culture and may not be fully aware of how his interruptions are affecting others (he might be thinking he's contributing and trying to make an impression since he's new, but not much awareness that it's disruptive).

    Perhaps a brief, private conversation with him could be helpful. You can explain how his interruptions make you feel and how they can disrupt the flow of the meeting. You could also offer some tips on active listening and respectful communication.

    It's important to communicate calmly and professionally (don't give him a reason that you're being emotional). Hopefully, by addressing the issue directly, you can find a more productive and respectful working dynamic. If it persists, I would bring it up to his immediate manager.

14. AnonymousJanuary 28,2025 at 1:41PM UTC

    You did good , let him see it won’t fly.

15. AnonymousJanuary 28,2025 at 10:15PM UTC

    Consider having a private conversation with him. I know the automatic response is "oh, he's a man, talking over a woman, of course" but after the second interruption, you say that when he did speak, it was "very defeatedly" kinda makes me wonder if he's not exactly doing this intentionally, trying to talk over you and in front of you, but if maybe he has ADHD. I do and there are times where it is all I can do to NOT interrupt others when they are speaking. Make sure that is not what is going on (or something similar) before berating him in public.