I’ve never been good at predictions. But there’s one speaking behavior that is so common I can predict it with amazing accuracy. Watch for it on your next Zoom call, meeting, or phone call. Once you notice it, you may come to hate it. Here’s the scenario…
Two people begin to speak at the same time. They both stop, and (usually) the more extroverted (or maybe just more polite) person will step in and say, “No, you go ahead.” It’s now time for the interrupted speaker to say what they were going to say. And what they’ll start by saying, 99% of the time, is “I was just going to say…” I’ve found myself saying it. I don’t know why we feel so obligated to tell people that we’re going to tell them what we were going to tell them before someone told us it was our turn to tell them. It really makes no rational sense. And there isn’t even a politeness about it. “I was just going to say” doesn’t excuse us from any possible misstep. It’s fluff. Has little meaning. And isn’t a great way to connect with the audience.
