Donald Trump is President of the USA again. But there is one thing we can learn from presidential candidate Kamala Harris for our everyday business lives.
Whether for appearances in front of a critical audience or in sensitive meetings: Walk confidently into the lead and don’t let anyone interrupt you, because you have something to say! A particularly perfidious tactic for not letting you get a word in edgewise and making you feel insecure is the interrupt technique. But don’t worry, there is a solution to this too!
Because it is perfectly possible to stand your ground confidently and unwaveringly – without appearing arrogant – even if you are constantly interrupted.
Tips:
- Let’s start with the most important point: keep your voice low – “fireside style” – and don’t increase the tempo (under pressure and #tress, the pitch of the voice increases and the pace of speech increases).
- Ask the other person in a very sympathetic way to please let you finish. Depending on how insistent the other person is, you may have to repeat the request several times (see Foxnews interview, first part of the video clip).
- If you are interrupted several times in front of a large audience, being firm can help – and you will see how your conversation partners quickly calm down again! Pauses in speech and clear body language such as eye contact are other great tools that you can use (see the second part of the video clip, Election campaign appearance in August 2024).
- The highest art, however, is to use humor to set boundaries for your counterpart. In the third part of the video clip, Kamala Harris demonstrates this in a relaxed manner and with a sympathetic laugh, saying: “You are at the wrong rally, guys. – No, you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.”
Video clips (© Foxnews, Youtube)
