Can We Hold Off on Interruptions?

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Francesca Mariadson writes about her tendency to interrupt ands. Says it's because she's italian. She talks about how cultural differences around pauses and interruptions is one reason why interrupts happen, why some people are more likely to interrupt than others. Have you ever experienced that cultural differences affecting interruptions? I was on a consulting project in korea, working for this large korean conglomerate. And basically, any time we spoke, we were talked over or interrupted. It got to a point at one really important meeting, where it just, i short circuited and just burst into tears.

Have you ever been in a meeting and shared an idea, only to have it ignored? Then, 10 minutes later, a guy shares the same idea, and your boss says “Great idea!” (Grrr.) Or maybe you’ve been told you apologize too much, don’t speak up enough, or that you need more “confidence” or “leadership presence.” (Ugh.) In this episode, we tackle three aspects of communication: first, how and why women’s speech patterns differ from men’s; second, how women can be more assertive in meetings; and third, how women can deal with interrupters (since the science shows women get interrupted more often than men do). Guests: Deborah Tannen is a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University. She is best known as the author of the bestseller “You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation.” Jill Flynn is a founding partner at Flynn Heath Holt Leadership. Amy Gallo is an HBR contributing editor and author of the “HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict.” Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network. For links to the articles mentioned in this episode, as well as other information about the show, visit hbr.org/podcasts/women-at-work.