The rule
When someone is speaking, let them reach the end before you start. That applies even when you know where they're going, even when you're the senior person in the room, and even when they're taking the long way round. If you must cut in, for a real reason, apologise and hand the conversation straight back.
Why it matters
Hardly anyone interrupts out of malice. It just feels as if your point can't wait. But the other person hears something simple: that you stopped listening a while ago and were waiting for your turn. It costs you a few seconds to wait, and those few seconds are often when people say what they really meant.
How to do it well
- Leave a breath after someone stops. Often they haven't finished, and that's when the interesting part arrives.
- Don't finish their sentences for them, however well you think you know the ending, and however long it takes them to find a word.
- When someone else in the room gets talked over, go back to them: "Sorry, you were saying?" It's one of the kindest things you can do in a meeting.