This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 35, How to Interrupt Someone Politely at Work with John Donnelly.
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Hey, John, how are you doing today? Welcome to All Ears English.
Hi, Lindsay. How are you doing? Good. I'm glad to have you on the show.
Where are you now, John? Where are you from and where are you based currently?
Yeah, okay. So, I'm from England, the UK, and I'm in South America in a country called Peru.
I'm living in the capital, Lima. Lima, which is famous for good food.
You're so lucky to be living in Lima. Yes, the food is wonderful.
I know I had some really good meals in Lima when I was there.
That is cool. So we're talking today a little bit about you actually suggested this interesting topic that I think is really going to help our listeners today.
And it's how to politely interrupt someone so we can get a word in.
Yes, absolutely. Um, Yes, if you're learning a language, sometimes you need to interrupt people and start practicing, you know?
Yeah. Yeah. So, in your classes, you really encourage your students to speak as much as possible, right?
So, they may need to use these occasionally to start speaking and to get in there.
Is that right? Yeah, absolutely. Yes. I want my students to interrupt me.
I don't want to be talking too much. So, I want my students... to be talking about 80% of the time.
And I try and limit myself to talking around 20% of the time.
I don't time myself. This is always something I'm aware of in my head during class.
So I want my students to interrupt me. Yeah, I love that.
And beyond just the classroom, when I thought about this topic, John, before we got on the call today, I thought about the business world, especially in American culture.
Because one of the things that I've heard from our listeners, from students in the past is that when they attend a business meeting in the US, and maybe they're the only international person at that meeting, literally people are just talking over each other and they cannot get a single word in.
It's such a different cultural atmosphere.
And what do you think about that kind of situation?
Yeah, definitely in the States, people are very wordy.
They can talk a lot, especially during a meeting when there are lots of people.
And it can be a daunting process trying to break into that.
So, yeah, you need to be quite forceful sometimes in that kind of situation.
Yeah. Do you think that kind of situation happens as much in England or is it more common in American culture?
What's your experience with that? Yeah, the British stereotype, you would tend to think that in England, we sit back and we're very polite and we say, oh, you first.
Oh, no, no, no, you go first. But it's not like that all the time, of course.
So yes, we interrupt each other all the time.
We talk over people. In a business environment, especially, it can get heated.
So things can get quite difficult in a meeting.
Yeah, go ahead, John. Yeah, sorry. Were you interrupting me?
Generally, yes, the British are a little more polite than in America, but it's not that big a difference, I don't think.
Okay. So these phrases are going to be extremely useful because part of the problem is if we are an international professional and we're coming to the U.S. or to England and we want to build our career, the problem is that we're highly judged on how we contribute verbally.
I think we make a lot of judgments in these cultures, Western cultures or American culture, British culture, about our competence based on how we verbally express ourselves.
Okay. Yeah. So for our listeners, guys, we want to really listen up today because using these phrases correctly and giving yourself the space to talk, like opening up the floor for yourself to talk could mean the difference between success and failure in your career.
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I love that.
So, John, let's go into it. What's the phrase?
What's the first phrase? Like, let's imagine we're in this meeting and everyone's talking over us and we just can't get a word in.
How do we let them know that we want to contribute, that we want to say something?
What should we say? Okay. So, the first one I have here is, these are all quite polite because, again, it's British English.
So, I would say the first one here is sorry to interrupt.
I just wanted to say and then you continue with your point.
Okay. Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to say.
Yeah. Okay. So that one's good. And how about the second one?
Yeah. Would you mind if I stop you there for a moment?
I have to add and then add your point after that one.
Okay. Can you repeat it one more time for our listeners just to be very careful to make sure they hear it?
Yes, of course. Would you mind if I stop you there for a moment?
I have to add... Good. I love that. These do seem especially polite.
Yeah, so we can come to a few... Less polite phrases afterwards for non-British speakers, let's say.
But I think it's always a good idea to err on the polite side.
Absolutely, yeah. Yeah. I mean, sometimes we'll be in an environment that's so fast-paced that we don't have time to be polite.
Yeah. right? But I do like the idea, especially in a professional atmosphere, it's better to err on the polite side.
And then we get a sense of how our colleagues are speaking and we can kind of blend in with them and use the correct terms for the office that we're in, right?
Yeah, that's absolutely true. You do have to follow the style of the workplace that you're working in, of course.
So If everyone is using formal language, you've got to imitate and copy that.
Yeah, absolutely. But I think that is actually a big difference between American and English business culture.
In America, it's much more relaxed. So it's much more informal.
Yeah. So, yeah. So keep it formal at the beginning and then get a feel for how people interact in the office and go with the flow.
Yeah, that's really interesting. I want to go through this last phrase here first, and then I want to ask you a little bit more about that, about how we notice that formal kind of atmosphere in England versus the casual atmosphere in the US.
But tell us the next phrase, John. What's the third one for us?
Yeah, okay. So you could just say, can I just mention something here?
And then go in with your point after that.
Okay, so I noticed that just is being used with a lot of these phrases.
How does that change the phrase, John? Gosh, that's a good question.
Just is an adverb, so what's the difference between can I mention something here, can I just mention something here?
Yeah, what's the difference in the feeling that it conveys to you?
I've never really thought about how that changes the sentence.
Can I just... No, you've got me there. Well, no, I mean, it's an opinion thing, right?
As a native speaker, I mean, you may see it a little bit differently than I do, but we love to kind of tear these things apart on this show and look at that.
Those nuances of the language, I think it makes you a little bit more humble.
Yeah, well, I'm just thinking about the word just, and it really translates for me, it kind of means only, like a simple thing.
I just want to mention, I just want to say, Right, right.
So, it's like I only want to say. Yeah. So, it's like reducing the impact of the phrase maybe.
Yeah. Something like that. Yeah, I agree.
I mean, I think it's reducing the impact and also saying that you're not going to take up much time or much space.
Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's adding a layer of politeness to – because interrupting isn't very polite if you think about it.
You're talking over somebody else. So, you want to try and reduce your impact as much as possible.
So this word, little word, just, we can throw that in.
Yeah. I like that. Helps to soften. Yeah.
Helps to soften the blow. Sure. We've done a couple episodes on this word itself about how women might be likely to use it more than men, kind of the gendered aspect of this word, and also when we should use it and when we should avoid it.
But in these phrases, I like it because we are kind of jumping in there and we're looking for space and people might be kind of bothered by the fact that we're interrupting them, but we need to because we need to get a word in because we're judged by what we express verbally, right?
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So that's important.
Okay. So we were talking about earlier about how British culture is a little bit more formal in the business space than American culture.
What are some other examples of that, John, that come to your mind?
Can you repeat the question, Lindsay? Yeah.
So, you had mentioned before that you feel that British culture is a little bit more formal in the business space.
Where do we see that showing up? Is that in the body language?
How do we know that? Yeah. It's in the phrases.
So, for example, if you… take those three phrases we just touched on.
We're using modal verbs like, would you mind, can I just say, can I just mention, could I just stop you there?
This use of the modal verbs in British English is very common.
So I don't, I'm not sure about American culture.
I've never worked in an American company in America.
Yeah. But I would say that Americans just are more direct.
Yeah, probably. And I think the use of the word sorry here, too, in your first phrase, sorry to interrupt.
Sorry to interrupt. Yeah. We are always apologizing, even if we haven't done anything.
That's interesting, isn't it? I hear that a lot more in British culture than in American culture, the use of the word sorry to begin a phrase.
Yes. Yeah. That's probably quite a big difference.
Yeah. Yeah. Very interesting. So, I feel like working with you, John, could be very effective for any students that might be, you know, preparing to live and work in the UK, for example, right?
Yeah. Yes. Yes. That would definitely help.
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah, you touched on body language as well.
I think the American and British body language, there could be some differences there as well.
So British people, we're thought of as more reserved.
So, you know, folded arms, crossed legs, that kind of body language is quite normal in the UK.
But of course, it does depend on the people, the person as well.
So Even for men, the cross legs for men is common?
Yeah. Well, I wouldn't say common, but it's not unusual.
Interesting. Yeah. Oh, that would be a difference.
I think in the business space, we don't see men crossing their legs as much.
I don't spend a lot of time in corporate offices, but... Me neither.
Me neither. I try not to. Thank goodness, right?
Knock on wood. No, that's interesting. I think that body language is a reflection of what we're saying, right?
I mean, we physically kind of manifest what we're saying verbally.
So that would make sense that the body language would be different too.
I mean, this is a huge topic today, John, that I don't think we can go into it in too much depth, but I love it.
I apologize. I'm sorry. Don't apologize, John.
It's okay. Did you have a couple of like bonus vocabulary words you wanted to share today before we wrap up?
Yeah, maybe we could talk about the word tact.
Okay. So if you're interrupting someone, you have to use tact.
What does tact mean? What is tact? It's sensitivity in dealing with other people or dealing with difficult issues.
Yeah. You have to have a sense of what to say or what to avoid saying sometimes so that you don't offend someone when you interrupt.
Yeah, it's kind of like social intelligence, right?
Yeah, yeah. So this word tact – It can be used as an adjective.
So we have a positive and a negative adjective.
So a tactful person is someone who uses tact, who tries not to offend people.
And a tactless person. So this is the negative.
So someone who doesn't care if they offend you or not.
And they might be quite rude. They will interrupt you rudely without using those modal verbs.
Could I? Can I? So, yeah. Okay. I like that.
Okay. And one final one is egocentric. Maybe this is a word you can use to describe people who love to talk about themselves.
People you want to interrupt. Yeah. Right, right, right.
And many times those people don't realize that they're dominating the conversation and that other people are trying to speak because they're not attuned to the social cues, right?
Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Okay. And hopefully that's not your boss, right?
We're hoping that for all of our listeners.
Hopefully not. Hopefully not. No. All right.
This is good. So, John, tell us a little bit about the classes that you are offering over at italki.
How can our listeners get involved if they want to learn these phrases and be able to use them?
Because I can really imagine that some of our listeners are probably struggling through business meetings, sitting there with brilliant ideas that could save their businesses, their companies, or could give them a lot of credit in terms of their career.
But they're not able to voice those ideas because other people from these cultures are talking over them.
Yeah, so, well, in my classes, I do business classes, business English.
We study vocabulary that's used in the workplace if you're in business.
So, yeah, you can have a look on italki, find me there.
But I don't just do business classes. I do all kinds of classes.
Usually the majority of my classes are conversation-based for intermediate or upper intermediate students.
Okay, that sounds perfect for our listeners.
Yeah, some of them wanting to do the high-level exams like the TOEFL or the Cambridge exams if you're in Europe.
I also do a lot of pre-intermediate classes for students just starting to take off in their journey in English.
These classes are very difficult for the students.
Their vocabulary is very limited and learning phrases, I believe, is a great way to advance your skills in a language.
I'm learning Spanish myself and so I use flashcards and online apps, that kind of thing, to improve my vocabulary and I encourage my students to obviously do the same thing on a daily basis.
Good. I always like to hear when a teacher is actually learning their own language.
I mean, you're living in South America, so you're struggling through, I would imagine, learning Spanish a little bit, and you can really empathize with your students.
Is that right? Yeah, absolutely. So I can empathize with the hard times they're going through, especially in that pre-intermediate phase.
But I've broken through that myself, so I also... understand how grace it feels to finally get through into intermediate and upper intermediate and be able to communicate fluently and freely.
And it's a great feeling. So I love to try and motivate my students with my own success story, if you like.
Cool. I like that. I like that. So in terms of your teaching style, you told me earlier that you use the 80-20 form of conversation.
Can you just quickly let us know what that is so our listeners could know if it's a fit for them?
Yeah, absolutely. I've been taught that you have to let, as a teacher, you must let your students speak.
And the goal really is to have a student speaking 80% of the time in a class.
And as a teacher, I should be simply spending my 20% of the time asking them if they can correct their mistakes.
And then if they haven't got a clue, then I can maybe nudge them in the right direction.
And finally, if they just haven't an idea where the mistake is, I'll just tell them what the answer is.
Okay, good. But yeah, that 80-20 percentage of talk time in a class is very important to me.
Okay, cool. So, I want to invite our listeners, guys, if you want to practice these phrases or other business phrases that could really help you, especially if you're planning to study or currently planning to work or are working in England, John would be a great teacher to work with.
So, John, where can our listeners go to find your profile?
Yes, Lindsay, it's on italki.com. If you put in a forward slash teacher forward slash 1026932.
You'll find me there. Okay. So again, italki.com forward slash teacher forward slash 1026932.
Is that right, John? That's the one. Yep.
Okay. So we want to encourage our listeners, guys, going over there, check out John's schedule, see if you can book a lesson and start to master these phrases because that's the only way to actively participate in your career because we know how important that business meeting can be.
Okay. Great, John. Thanks a lot. That was fun.
It was good to meet you. Glad to have you on the show and we hope to see you again soon.
Okay, Lindsay. Yep. Thank you. Lovely to see you too.
Thanks for hanging out. Take care. Bye. Bye-bye.
Bye-bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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