Thursday, August 21, 2008

Interrupting Is All Ego

I'm sure everyone has experienced the rude interrupter. You are having a conversation with someone and another person walks up and interrupts talking nonstop. This happened to me again today with the same person. So I did some research on why this person does not know how annoying it is to both parties.
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Now if it is urgent and they say excuse me anyone would not think it rude. However, this person has done it to me multiple times just because. It is always about himself or his ideas. not to join the conversation but totally off the topic between you and another. So what do you do with such rudeness? What I did was walk away as the person talked nonstop but this left the other person to deal with him. This seems to be the suggested way to handle the situation but seems cruel to the person left behind. My poor left-behind called and said sarcastically "thank you so much for leaving me fend for myself with Mr. Ego." This is what I found:
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Interrupting is all ego. It suggests that what I have to say is more valuable and important than what you have to say. It inappropriately elevates the interrupter. It communicates that my needs, my ideas, my thoughts dominate and leave little room for you.
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Egocentricity is the belief that one is the center of the known universe and, therefore, deserves to occupy the podium, if not the bully pulpit, at all times. Many chronic interrupters believe that nobody else could possibly have anything of value to say, at least compared to them. We can choose not to play their ill-mannered game.
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Is this a learned behavior? So do you have any ideas on what you would do?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have also been rudely interrupted by Mr. Ego. He's part of the entitled, it's all about ME part of our "young professional" generation. Fortunately, I've met a number of "young professionals" who realize it isn't all about them. In fact is is all about US working together to make a better community and world. Mr. Ego might listen to the words of John Edwards as he described what he feels led (at least in part) to his down fall. I've seen it many times....too much power given too soon to people who don't know how to handle it.