Why We Interrupt, and What It Costs Us
Launch library · evergreen read
Interrupting rarely feels rude from the inside. It usually feels like enthusiasm, or urgency, or a fear that a good thought will be lost if it is not spoken immediately. From the other side of the conversation, though, it lands very differently.
Each interruption tells the other person that what they were saying mattered less than what you wanted to say next. Over time, in a relationship or a workplace, repeated interruption trains people to say less, because they have learned their sentences will not be allowed to finish.
Breaking the habit starts with tolerating a small amount of discomfort: the itch of a half formed thought that wants to be spoken immediately. Letting that itch pass, and waiting for a genuine gap, is a simple change that noticeably improves how people feel around you.
Some cultures and families treat overlapping speech as a sign of engagement rather than rudeness, which complicates any single rule about interruption. Still, in most everyday settings, checking the habit and leaving a genuine gap for the other person to finish tends to be received as care rather than passivity.