It's a good thing my molars aren't made of glass, because at times like this, my mouth would be full of grit and shards. The other person always seems to be surprised if I opt NOT to stop talking just because they chose to interrupt. I've always loved what I heard a Brit rocker say to a talk show host who pulled this stunt one time too many: "Oh, pardon me for trying to talk while you were interrupting."
There is nothing -- NOTHING -- you can do to piss me off worse than interrupting me when I'm speaking. I'm not bombastic; I engage in dialogues instead of delivering monologues. I listen to others with great interest and enjoy conversations. And it utterly pisses me off to the max when someone interrupts.
This is a knee-jerk emotional reaction because I grew up with a chronic conversational trampler, so as an adult I've learned not to express this irritation randomly; I usually count to 10 mentally and just let it go. But the temper simmers.
You know why? It's simple. When you interrupt, here's what you're really saying to the other person:
- "You're not interesting; I'd rather hear my own voice."
- "It's not possible that you have anything useful to contribute. Shut up."
- "You're not important to me. I see no reason to listen to you if I'm not fascinated. Who cares if it hurts your feelings?"
- "You're not useful to me, and I have no compelling reason to be courteous to you.""
- "I have no respect for you, so I'm going to ignore the fact that you're trying to convey some information to me."
- "I've stopped listening to you."
- "What I have to say is more interesting, important or useful than anything you have to say."
- "My time is SO valuable, and you're wasting it."
Oh, yeah -- you're also saying that you're a rude, inconsiderate, self-important jackass. FYI.
(Hope that I'm not talking to any of you, heh-heh.)
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