Alison Wood Brooks

That is a big if, right?

Like you need to be in a really positive, trusting, loving place to be able to say, you know what?

I would really love for you to ask me more questions.

And you might learn something really great.

They might say, oh, I don't because I always worry that it's too nosy or I know that you don't love talking about yourself, which is why I don't ask.

That's the kind of brave response.

um, conversational thing that might unearth new information, even in a, in, in an old long-term friendship or, or relationship.

In an interesting way, it's a fascinating test of how much do you value that relationship?

Because I think over time, these are the sort of small things that accumulate that do push us apart or can bring us closer.

And this sort of decision of do I give this feedback or not is a test of, well, what do you want this person to be in your life going forward?

How much can you tolerate?

This is a topic very near and dear to my heart, Dwight.

I hear you.

I want to draw a distinction that I think you might find helpful, Dwight, and I hope others do too.

Interruptions come in two flavors.

One is when someone interrupts, cuts you off and stays on the same topic versus they cut you off and they jump cut to something unrelated, right?

On-topic interruptions are actually pretty great.

It's a sign that the person you're talking to is very engaged and they're listening and they're so excited about where you're going that they can't wait for you to finish your sentence or your statement.

It still can be annoying, right?

They're still cutting you off so you can't finish your thought, but it is a sign that you are connecting and that you have this bubbling back and forth.