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The Art of Dealing with Interruptions
“Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero
Maintaining a good conversation is not as easy as the movies portray. Many failed dates, unsuccessful office meetings and awkward social gatherings are a testimony to the complications involved in initiating and maintaining a decent social interaction. People who are not socially adept understand this better than all the charming extroverts who have mastered the art of social interaction.
Very often a major contributing factor to these numerous uncomfortable conversations is that they are interrupted. Both rudely and politely. It doesn’t matter how the trail of talk is interrupted, it is always unpleasant.
One of my colleagues who is an introvert, embraces quietness as if her life depends on it. She often resorts to being silent in every team meeting and is happy to stay mum on the pressing problems of the team. When she was given an opportunity (rather an order) to present a 20-minute long presentation in front of the big shots of the company, she agreed to it reluctantly. She mustered enough courage and prepared well for the big day. The beginning of the presentation went smoothly and as it progressed her confidence skyrocketed. That is when it all came to a halt. One of the senior partners interrupted her demanding that she be louder. To say the…
