Listen without Interruption

Listen with Interruption

So what can you do?

Listen without interruption

Listen without interruption, listen to learn and understand and give the speaker both your full attention and time to complete what they are saying. Be a listening role-model and lead by way of example and encourage others to do the same.

Give yourself permission to speak up

If you have trouble speaking up and contributing and fall too much into a listening role – active listening and listening without interruption can be really powerful – because you are listening to understand. However, you also need to take the next step and respond and speak up yourself. Listening and pausing to think will give you the opportunity to understand and collect your thoughts before actively contributing by speaking up.

It doesn’t have to be ground-breaking or earth-shattering, but develop your confidence in speaking up (and being heard).

Empower Others (and quieten down interruptions)

Empower others by giving others opportunities to speak and be heard. Encourage others (particularly at meetings) to give everyone a fair opportunity to speak, an opportunity to have their turn and contribute to the conversation. If everyone feels like they will have their turn/opportunity they are less likely to interrupt others or jump in.

Practice

Finally, practice all of the above. The more you practice, the better you get.