Dear Latimer: More Answers to Your Questions

Hello friends! We recently added a new element to our website, where you can submit your communication questions directly to us. We will collect the questions, and either answer directly back to you, or when appropriate, publish your questions and our answers on our blog. Our goal here is to give you some quick support and answer your most pressing questions about the all-important skill of persuasive communication.

So, fire away with those questions, and we look forward to hearing from you. If you want to submit a question, look for the “Dear Latimer” box on the right side of the screen on our blog page.

Have a great day! ~Dean and Hannah

Dear Latimer,

In my organization, you never get past slide 2 without an interruption, usually from a senior person in the meeting. How do you get through your presentation with an audience that is constantly jumping in and taking the conversation off course?

• Tonya A., Connecticut

Thanks Tonya. Great question. We hear this one a lot, from inside many companies. We have some advice for you and anyone who presents. We also have some advice for any business leaders who might be reading this, and who might occasionally be guilty of the behavior you are describing.

There are a few things a presenter can do to minimize this behavior from others… but we can’t guarantee that you can ever eliminate it entirely. Your strategies need to start with your own preparation. Here are some three things you can do ahead of time:

1. Work really hard to get to the point quickly. People flip ahead and/or interrupt because many presenters don’t get to the punch line very quickly. Think about how you could summarize the story in three minutes or less, using a storytelling frame like “problem/solution” where you summarize the problem, its potential or real impact, your suggested solution, and your request/ask to bring that solution to life. The quicker you can get to the punchline, the less reason your audience has to jump ahead of you.
2. Try to anticipate the questions that might come. If you are presenting to an audience you know really well, think hard about the types of questions that might come up, and see if you can work those issues/answers directly into your story. Or if you don’t know the audience well, think about what someone in their industry, or their functional area, or level of seniority might care about. Put yourself in their shoes.
3. If possible, try to get with members of your audience ahead of time, and simply ask them what might be valuable to them in the discussion. A five-minute phone call ahead of time, or a quick pop in to someone’s office gives you the opportunity to simply ask “what are you listening for in next week’s meeting?” If you learn anything valuable, work it directly into your message.

And here are some things you can do during the meeting:

1. Right at the top, you can let everyone know “I have a three-minute summary of our discussion today, and then I will dive into the details and you can take the conversation wherever you want to go.” That’s a nice way of saying “give me three minutes before you interrupt me.” That won’t stop everyone. But it will delay some of this behavior.
2. If someone interrupts you with an early question, and their question is something you are about to answer, don’t be afraid to respond with “great question, I will address that directly in a moment.”

And the other thing you can do is start a conversation within your team or company about this, and other kinds of interruptive behavior. Try to establish some group norms, where everyone treats everyone with a little patience for the first three to five minutes.

Again, we can’t and won’t guarantee that you will be able to eliminate this behavior. Some people interrupt because they are truly inquisitive. Others do so, as a demonstration of how smart or powerful they are. No matter what we do, some people may always behave this way. But with the correct strategies, we know you can reduce the frequency of this kind of behavior.

Finally, if you are reading this, and think you might commit the kind of behavior that Tonya is talking about, spend a moment and reflect on the impact this behavior might have on others inside your organization. We can say, with confidence, that Tonya’s question comes up a lot, and this sort of interruptive behavior causes a lot of anxiety for many employees in many companies. Is that really the impact you want to have?

We hope this helps!

—

Does your team:
– Overwhelm the audience with too much detail?
– Make things too complicated?
– Fail to ask for what they want or need?

Does your organization:
– Waste time because of poor internal communication?
– Take too long to make decisions?
– Struggle to clarify and frame discussions?

Do your leaders:
– Exhibit poor executive presence?
– Lean on incomplete communication skills?
– Fail to align the organization?

We transform teams and individuals with repeatable toolsets for persuasive communication. Explore training, coaching, and consulting services from The Latimer Group.