Hello and welcome back to- >> [INAUDIBLE] >> Hello and welcome back to English for Management and Leadership. >> [INAUDIBLE] >> Hello and welcome back to English for Management and Leadership. Have you ever been in a situation where you keep getting interrupted? How about where someone else is doing all the talking and you can't get an opportunity to speak? Would you like to know how to prevent interruptions? And how to attempt interruptions of your own? Well that's the focus of this video. We will show you strategies for what in English we call holding the floor. No, you aren't literally touching the floor. It's an idiom that means you're speaking and maintaining control of your turn to speak. We can also speak about someone having the floor, meaning it's their turn to speak. In general, the floor in this context refers to a speaking turn. We'll also look at techniques for interrupting when someone else dominates the floor. First of all, we should mention that these issues are cultural. Some cultures have a wait approach. Where it's expected that a person will finish speaking before another person begins. Other cultures have an interrupting approach where it's acceptable to jump into a person's speaking turn. Even others have a pause approach where its expected that a pause is offered between speakers to ensure that everything has been said. There can also be differences in approach within cultures among families and even among certain functional areas such as IT or finance marketing or engineering. What about you? Do you follow a wait culture, an interrupting culture, or a pause culture? Some people feel that certain interruptions are okay. Compare these two examples. >> Hey I walked by Norma's desk yesterday- >> Oh my God, I didn't know she was back. I love her so much. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. >> Oh, no, I was, I love her too! I didn't realize she had such a talent in graphic design. >> She does. >> I went by Norma's desk yesterday- >> Norma! She's back! >> Yeah- >> Oh my god, she used to sit by me! >> Yeah- >> And I heard that she took a sailing trip and she had to get rescued and she thought she was gonna die! >> What did you notice about these two interactions? How are they different? Is one more acceptable than the other? Interestingly, even if you come from an interrupt culture, interrupting is usually considered impolite unless it follows certain rules. Most often we try to interrupt when a speaker has been going on and on and on and on, either dominating the floor or not really adding anything new to the conversation. In our opening scene, Jake was one who seemed to go off-topic a little more than the others. So how can you politely limit his conversation time? First of all, if it's a new relationship to you, cut the person some slack until you get to know him better. In other words, allow him a few lengthy turns to understand better. Whether he just likes to talk, whether he likes to talk off topic, or whether he actually has good information to share. Otherwise, show that person that you are listening by summarizing his or her main idea. Then find a relevant connection to the meeting purpose, and redirect. Follow up with a question related to the meeting to get that person back on track. If that's difficult, wait for a pause, then ask the person to clarify. I'm not following you. Can you explain how this relates to the point we were discussing? If they can't, use the opportunity to go back to the agenda. I see. Then that topic is best discussed at another time. Right now, we need to focus on deciding our next steps. Show how it's important, but not important now, or not related to the agenda. Let's table this for another meeting. But whatever you do, be calm. Be confident, be curious but if you're leading the meeting be in control. If you're not leading the meeting, you can also help by being in active by standard. I'd like to hear what she has to say. Please let Mike finish. Now let's switch perspectives and imagine you are the one who's speaking. And you would like to finish your thought. In other words, you want to hold the floor. First of all, try not to take interruptions personally. Often interruptions have more to do with the interrupter than with you. Make it clear that you were interrupted but you can do so politely. Excuse me, Liz, but you didn't let me finish. I'd like to note that the deadline for the delivery is Monday. Secondly, you're more likely to be given time to finish if you offer a quick outline of what you want to say. Such as three main points or two counter-arguments. Be sure to summarize quickly in your head your main idea. Learn to speak concisely and offer the main point up-front. That way, the most important information at least has been said. Sometimes personal communication styles can cause people to interrupt certain people more than others. If you find yourself interrupted frequently, take a look at your own communication style. Do you use filler words like or? Do you use an uncertain tone of voice? Instead, try practicing a more forceful tone. If you're going to pause, pause in the middle of a sentence instead of the end so people don't think you're finished. Speak slowly and carefully rather than quickly. This can be difficult to do, especially when you're afraid you're going to get interrupted. Use body language to demonstrate presence in the room. Amy Cuddy's research on power posing has shown how body language can make you feel and look more powerful. Take a look at her TED talk to see the kinds of techniques she recommends. Avoid undermining your own authority by using weak phrasing such as, I'm not sure this is right, but I just think we should try this. Finally, don't automatically stop when you're interrupted. Sometimes interrupters are hoping you'll stop and let them talk instead. Let's review the key takeaways of this lesson. First of all, consider your audience. Are you interacting with people from pause, wait, or interrupt cultures? If you're going to interrupt, do so politely but firmly. If you're leading the meeting, redirect the conversation back to the topic, or suggest the conversation happen at a later date. If you're a participant in the meeting, point out that you would like the speaker to finish because you'd like to hear what they were going to say. To prevent interruption, summarize your thoughts in your head and present the most important information up-front. These are all techniques that you can try today at your next meeting. Let us know how they work. See you in the next video. Thanks for watching English for Management and Leadership.
