Heres How To Shut Down Manterruptors, Ruth Bader Ginsburg-style

Heres How To Shut Down Manterruptors, Ruth Bader Ginsburg-style Theres bedrngnishing worse than being on a roll in a meeting and then getting interrupted by a colleague. Its a frustrating experience, especially when it can be categorized as a manterruption. Sometimes, however, its completely by accident.Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg knows this just as well (if not better) than the average woman in the workplace. In a recent interview with Charlie Rose, Ginsburg discussed unconscious bias and how it leads to major discrimination against women.Ginsburg gave an example of an oral argument, when she and Justice Sandra Day OConnor were both on the bench. Ginsburg assumed that OConnor welches done speaking and interjected. I thought that she had finished, so I asked a question, Ginsburg said. Justice OConnor said, Just a minute, Im not finished.Though it was a small interaction between two colleagues, it became a major media event. The next day, USA Today ran a story about the exchange Rude Ruth Interrupts Sandra.Not only did Ginsburg apologize to OConnor, who told her not to worry and that the guys do it to each other all the time, but Ginsburg advocated for herself when a reporter later confronted her about the incident. Ginsburg said she asked the reporter if he noticed her male colleagues constantly interrupting each other.He watched for a month, Ginsburg said. Then he came to my chambers and said, You know youre right. They do interrupt each other all the time, but I never noticed it.Even though manterruptions are annoying and can be detrimental to a professional womans authority, there are strategies you can use to shut down manterruptors (and the people who try to convince you that theyre not a big deal). Here are some RBG-inspired ways to make sure youre heard at work1.Use active words.A Northwestern University study on oral arguments showed scientific proof that female Supreme Court Justices are interrupted more. We find that judicial interaction s at oral argument are highly gendered, the researchers wrote. With women being interrupted at disproportionate rates by their male colleagues, as well as by male advocates.When Ginsburg and other female justices used polite language, like sorry, may I ask and excuse me, they were interrupted much more frequently. However, the study also showed that in response to this Ginsburg changed the way she spoke. Ginsburg appears to transition to a more aggressive style of questioning, the researchers pointed out. And she is not interrupted nearly as frequently.2.Advocate for more women on the team.Ginsburg speaks on legal matters and gender equality regularly. Though she personally doesnt get to decide which justices join the Supreme Court, she is public about wanting as many women on the bench as possible. When asked when there will be enough women on the Supreme Court in 2012, Ginsburg gave her now iconic responseI say, when there are nine, she said at the 10th Circuit Bench There have b een nine men, and nobodys ever raised a question about that.Regardless of whether youre on the Supreme Court bench or sitting around a conference room table, having more women in the room is always a good idea. Together, you can promote each others ideas, stand up against hepeating and invite female coworkers to finish their statements when they get interrupted. Make an active effort to bring in female employees at all levels of your organization, and the results will speak for themselves.3.Stand up for yourself.Despite their ideological differences, Ginsburg was a close friend of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. They disagreed on many items, but remained best buddies (and those are Ginsburgs words) throughout their career, even once going on vacation together.Ginsburgs friendship with Scalia reminds us that its important to get to know people on the other side of the table. If you find yourself consistently interrupted by a male colleague, ask him to coffee so you can sha re your concerns. Its possible that he hasnt noticed and will appreciate you bringing the matter up in private. If the discussion grows confrontational and you feel that you need to get a supervisor involved, you will have at least advocated for yourself by making the effort to address the issue on your own.You shouldnt be expected to solve the manterruption problem, but until men start understanding their own behaviors and how they affect women at work, these strategies are a good way to get started. RBG would be proud