Try This at Home: Don’t Interrupt!

This is the first in my summer series of, “Try This at Home,” posts that focus on coaching attributes you can practice now and carry into the school year. Let’s start with not interrupting.
 
According to Brené Brown, interrupting gets in the way of psychological safety – which is necessary for taking risks, expressing ideas, asking real questions, and making mistakes without fear of being embarrassed or rejected.
 
When we avoid interrupting, we show respect for the person who’s talking. We strengthen relationships. We listen and understand better. When we refrain from interrupting others, they are more likely to reciprocate and listen to us, creating more-balanced conversations.
 
If you want to interrupt less, try to focus entirely on the speaker and what they are saying. Push back the impulse to start thinking about how you will respond. Maintain eye contact to express engagement. Smile, nod, or say “mmmmm,” or “mmmhmmm” to show you are listening. If a thought comes that you don’t want to forget, jot it down. Wait for a natural pause before you respond. Monitor yourself, consciously willing yourself to let others finish.
 
If you’re willing to be vulnerable, ask friends or family to gently remind you if you interrupt. Making a commitment to yourself to avoid interrupting will help you develop better listening and communication skills.
 
When you’re excited about an idea or you feel like you’ve already waited patiently for the speaker to stop talking, it can be hard not to interrupt. But cutting someone off mid-sentence, without letting them finish their thought, shows disrespect and can damage relationships. Being an active conversational partner, a respectful turn-taker, shows that you value the speaker’s ideas and their time.
 
This week, in your personal conversations, suppress the urge to interrupt. Don’t give in. Allow the other person to finish what they’re saying. Prioritize shared communication over your own desire to speak. When it comes to good communication, listening is just as important as speaking. If you try this at home, you’ll be a better coach when the school year gets underway.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Extending silent think time:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/extending-silence/
 
 
Taking learning “temperature checks” and asking for student feedback:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/free-videos
 
 
A podcast episode about preventing teacher burnout:
 
https://barkleypd.com/blog/podcast-addressing-educator-burnout-self-care-in-not-enough/
 
 
The importance of teacher reflection:
 
https://www.thoughtco.com/importance-of-teacher-reflection-8322
 
 
Building positive school culture:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/k12-hub/blog/3-areas-to-consider-when-creating-a-positive-school-culture/
 
That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! TODAY you can still use the code: JUL2024 for 20% off. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!
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