The Art of Interrupting

Carrying on with the theme of how to have a successful rentrée, I’ll focus this time on a key element of office communication skills - the art of interrupting!

There are many self-help guides and internet tutorials – not to mention one or two articles I’ve posted here on my blog – that focus on how to give presentations, how to be more assertive, ask more pertinent questions and so on; but the art of interrupting is a skill which is often forgotten, or worse, ignored.

And when you stop to think about this, you can probably remember a number of interruptions that particularly upset you. Perhaps you were in your office working quietly and really efficiently on an important project…and one of your colleagues barged in and started talking to you about something so totally unrelated – and, for you, less crucial – that at first you had no idea what they were talking to you about. Or maybe there was a time during a meeting when you were explaining the solution you and your team had found…only to be verbally shot down by a colleague who was determined to express their idea, come what may…even if it was exactly the same as one already touched on!

These are just a couple of the anecdotes that have been shared with me. There are many more of course and, as I said, I’m fairly sure that most of you can add to this list.

It would of course be easy to stand on the moral high ground and criticize the people who interrupt. But I don't think that that would be particularly useful. Quite often, people react badly if they are reprimanded or told how they should behave.

On the other hand, I think it would be useful to consider the following interconnected points:

1. Why do people interrupt and how can we – the person being interrupted – react to this without showing anger or frustration?
2. Can people who have something really important they need to share understand that “right now” is perhaps not the best moment for others?

And

3. Just as some companies have introduced guidelines for how to improve the efficiency of meetings or to allow people to switch off after work, perhaps there should be a company policy concerning interruptions too.

I’ll consider the first two points together as they are, in effect, opposite sides of the same coin. One person is focused on an important project; the other has just received some important news on their important project. One person needs to work uninterrupted – while the other needs to share this news with another and/or ask for advice. Either way, these two positions will, likely as not, cause a clash.

It is quite possible for the person being interrupted to talk angrily to their colleague while the latter could accuse the other of being insensitive. If they are not careful, there could be an escalation in which nobody wins since this kind of clash often results in people not talking to each other or refusing to work together.

And that is probably when a third neutral party, needs to intervene and help these two colleagues realize that while both positions are legitimate, their reactions may be a little exaggerated.

Referring to some of the anecdotes shared with me, one company uses the quite simple solution of putting a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the office door of the person not wishing to be disturbed. They also encourage the other employees to respect this and not try to circumvent the sign by phoning or sending emails.

This system also works because most people have their own office rather than sharing one or working from a cubicle in an open-space. Furthermore, the system is only used in an urgent situation, not on a daily basis. The company has also put in place a system of ten-minute stand-up meetings where people can attend, if they wish to, and share their problems AND ideas with colleagues, generally over a cup of coffee or tea. The colleagues can then agree who they need to see, and when, and about what! This company employs fewer than 50 people, and this system, even though it appears really simplistic, actually works!

So what about you? Could this system be successfully adapted to the way you work? Have your managers even considered the risks and repercussions of unchecked interruptions?

Why not use this rentrée period for getting into working habits that allow you to be efficient and (relatively) stress free. Taking care of interruptions could be a useful element to focus on soon.