How to handle being interrupted in meetings
Handle being interrupted in a meeting by keeping your voice level and continuing: I would like to finish this point, then I would love your view. If it keeps happening, agree with a colleague to hand the floor back to each other, send points in writing before the meeting, and raise a pattern privately with the person or the chair. Calm and brief works better than louder.
Why it matters: A few calm phrases keep your point in the room.
Steps
- Keep talking at a calm, level pace for a sentence rather than stopping.
- Say: I would like to finish this point, then I would love your thoughts.
- Use the person's name and a small hand gesture to hold the floor if needed.
- Agree with a colleague to amplify each other: I think Maya was about to finish her point.
- Send your key point in writing before or after the meeting.
- If one person does it often, raise it privately and specifically.
- If you chair meetings, set a norm that people finish their thought before others jump in.
Common mistakes
- Apologizing and yielding the floor every time.
- Getting louder, which turns it into a contest.
- Complaining about it publicly in the meeting.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: How to handle being interrupted in meetings
What to say
Handle being interrupted in a meeting by keeping your voice level and continuing: I would like to finish this point, then I would love your view. If it keeps happening, agree with a colleague to hand the floor back to each other, send points in writing before the meeting, and raise a pattern privately with the person or the chair. Calm and brief works better than louder.
What to show
- Keep talking at a calm, level pace for a sentence rather than stopping.
- Say: I would like to finish this point, then I would love your thoughts.
- Use the person's name and a small hand gesture to hold the floor if needed.
- Agree with a colleague to amplify each other: I think Maya was about to finish her point.
- Send your key point in writing before or after the meeting.
- If one person does it often, raise it privately and specifically.
- If you chair meetings, set a norm that people finish their thought before others jump in.
Check question
Which line keeps the floor calmly?
Answer: I would like to finish this point, then I would love your thoughts. It is polite, clear and holds your place.
Your checklist
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Quick quiz
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Related skills
Sources
This skill is general practice and draws on no single published source.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .