Alison Wood Brooks

On the other hand, off-topic interruptions are the kind that we think of, you know, the jerk who cuts someone off and changes the subject because they're not interested.

So that is actually quite rude and very frustrating.

So I would nudge you, Dwight, to think about which type is happening to you.

And if it's the positive flavor, the on-topic interruption, maybe to try to just feel – foster a little bit more gratitude, sort of do the reframe of like, oh yeah, this is happening because they love me or they care so much about what we're talking about they can't possibly wait for me to finish.

Or if it's the sort of bad kind where someone is truly not interested in what you're saying and is shifting to something else, then that's a situation where you might think about giving them feedback.

Like, hey, it actually makes me feel not only annoyed but probably a little hurt that you're constantly switching the conversation away from me and my ideas.

Just wanted to let you know that's how I'm feeling.

And if it's people who are really close to you, they should care.

They should take that seriously.

It's a great question.

I think this is part of what it means to get close with certain people or to become familiar with a certain culture.

This is part of that cultural learning or that sort of relational learning is learning people's preferences about how long should we wait before the next person talks?

How acceptable is it for me to cut people off or to jump in before they're done?

And it might be it can be a cultural thing, but it also can just be part of your shared reality in a relationship where you develop your own norms and equilibrium of like what's acceptable.

But I think someone like this who's feeling like, oh, maybe I'm jumping in too soon.

It's the kind of thing that you could work on.

And just say, oh, I'm going to try it today or in this conversation to be a little bit more patient.

I want to make sure I let my partner finish all the way before I jump in.

And do it as a little test for yourself.

I constantly do this kind of test for myself.