I realized that way too often, during conversations, I tend to interrupt people while they are speaking. I recently started to realize that, but always too late.
You might have a good idea on how to change this bad habit, so please drop a comment and give me a hand to solve this problem.
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I too suffer from this at times and it’s when I’m not thinking about the conversation. Trying to be mindful of it in discussions is my only suggestion right now.
I’m sensitive about this when people do it to me and it irritates me quite a lot, but then I notice I do it sometimes, too. Fortunately, I’m good at remembering what we were talking about, so if I realize I’ve cut someone off I either apologize and turn it back to them or (if it’s a more belated realization) I’ll say something like “Oh, hey, I cut you off earlier while you were saying [xyz thing], do you want to finish that thought?” For me this happens when I’m really excited about a conversation, so if I notice I’m getting out of hand I’ll say something like “Sorry, I tend to interrupt when I get excited, and it’s a bad habit. I’m trying to be more aware, but don’t be afraid to call me out on it.” The other thing I do (to try to keep myself from interrupting in the first place) is to remind myself to be more attentive, that getting my idea out there isn’t as important as understanding what the other person is trying to say, and if I feel almost unbearably eager to state my opinion that I should stop and ask the other person some follow-up questions first to probe deeper into what they’re saying before I cut loose.
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