One of my favorite things to do is to ignore what they’re saying and mumble an occasional random, weird word or phrase (like; “Yeah, yeah, Wankel rotary engine”) while they continue their interruption. When they (eventually) stop and ask what it was that I just said, I say, “Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening to me either.”
Usually I -
I was an elective mute for a few years. I can choose not to talk better than anyone I know.
I simply clam up. Simply look at them and refuse to talk. It drives people nuts.
That’s very similar to one of my favorite phrases for just such an occasion… “If there’s one thing I hate, is for someone to keep on talking when I 'm trying to interrupt!”.
I LOVE that!
My wife finishes my sentences when she thinks she know what I’m going to say. It drives me nuts. To make matters worse, I’ve caught myself doing the same thing to her. I hope I don’t do it to other people. I tray to watch out for that.
I was an elective mute for a few years. I can choose not to talk better than anyone I know.
Annie X-mas I think that this is what I might be going for (at least when not in the company of close friends or family). My officemate does this extremely well and I am trying to learn from her. I desperately need to learn how to fly under the radar because I tend to stick out like a sore thumb :eek:. What do you mean when you said you were an “elective mute” for a few years? Did it have positive or negative repercussions? Sorry to hijack, but I am just curious for feedback and can’t imagine having this conversation at a staff meeting or some such ;).
So anyway, it depends entirely on the person and the relationship. Presumably I’m not carrying on a conversation with someone I don’t care for, so I try to pull back on the snark. In the past, I would normally have let the interruption take. Lately, I just wait no more than a second or two for a lower decibel level in the interruption, and calmly say “Of course, I wasn’t finished with my story.” This usually elicits a profound apology, and the problem is cured for the remainder of the conversaton.
Years ago I was having a phone conversation with a friend, and was trying to make a point. He interrupted my data with the plural of anecdotes so extensive that it derailed the conversation entirely. He buried me in exceptional anecdotes. He crushed my ideas into dust. Some 30 minutes later, when there was finally a lull, I firmly stated “Yeah, but if you’d let me finish what I was trying to say, I could actually make my point!” He apologized and let me speak. He followed that up with “Huh, I guess you’re right.”
I remember this one time when I was speaking to someone who I had no reason to be friendly to. She was trying to screw me out of about $600. Every time I tried to explain why it would be good for her to pay me, she interrupted and discounted what I had to say. She totally undermined me. At one point I just shouted “EXCUSE ME, I WAS TALKING!” Shut her pie-hole right the fuck up. And I ended up getting my way. 
AHA! You seek out an interruptor for a partner in your life because of your father, and because deep down inside you crave being interrupted! Daddy?! Please approve! Interrupt me! How Freudian!
No, but seriously, my girlfriend does the same thing. At least she’s not as bad as her mom, who instead of actually conversing with others, just likes to make noises with her mouth while in a room full of people. Oh, what’s that? You were trying to say something? Sorry, she didn’t even notice; there’s more sounds coming out of her mouth.
Please don’t get the impression here that I don’t love the woman with all my heart.
Elective mutism is when a person (usually a child) can talk but chooses not to. I simply did not talk to people. It’s a sign of a person trying desperately to control some aspect of their life, and often consider the sign of a severly abused child. A person can make a child do a lot of things, but talking isn’t one of them.
A search on wiki for “elective mutism” brings up “selective mutuism” with a claim thaqt the person cannot talk. That is wrong–they are two different conditions. Most electively mute people can talk, and when they do choose to talk, speak normally.
People do go crazy when someone refuses to talk to them. If I’m doing it and I have to speak to the person, I use very clipped speech and few words; i.e. worst.post.ever.
Torey Hayden is an expert on the condition, and has written several books about her working with chldren who are elective mutes.
knock knock
who’s there?
interrupting fetus
…
aren’t you going to say interrupting fetus who?
no. I’ve heard interrupting cow, and I shudder to think what interrupting fetus might be.
Best response I’ve seen to an interrupter and one I’ve used numerous times on my husband came from Monica on Friends. Simply point to your mouth say, “Lips moving, still talking.”
Stops him dead every time.
krak fssssssssshhhhhhhhh…
Depends on the situation. If you don’t mind offending the people you are with, just throw up your hands in defeat and look around in bewilderment, then walk away while they’re talking.