What do I actually say in the moment?

Q: What do I actually say in the moment?

Three options, in increasing firmness: Bridge back: "Hold that thought, Marcus — I want to finish the point first." Friendly. Useful when the interrupter is excited rather than dismissive. Name it neutrally: "Let me wrap this up and then I'd love to hear that." Names the interruption without naming the interrupter. Works when you don't want to escalate. Name it directly: "I wasn't done." Two words. Works when the pattern is chronic and the polite versions have already failed. Pick the lowest-firmness option that matches the situation. Save the directness for when the gentler moves haven't been heard. Deborah Tannen catalogs the underlying conversational-dominance patterns in Talking from 9 to 5 . Useful context for why the same response comes across differently across speakers and rooms.

Question

Accepted Answer

Three options, in increasing firmness:

Bridge back: "Hold that thought, Marcus — I want to finish the point first." Friendly. Useful when the interrupter is excited rather than dismissive.
Name it neutrally: "Let me wrap this up and then I'd love to hear that." Names the interruption without naming the interrupter. Works when you don't want to escalate.
Name it directly: "I wasn't done." Two words. Works when the pattern is chronic and the polite versions have already failed.

Pick the lowest-firmness option that matches the situation. Save the directness for when the gentler moves haven't been heard.

Deborah Tannen catalogs the underlying conversational-dominance patterns in Talking from 9 to 5. Useful context for why the same response comes across differently across speakers and rooms.

What to say when someone keeps interrupting you in meetings

What do I actually say in the moment?