How to Respond When You Get Interrupted in a Meeting | Andrea Wojnicki

Getting interrupted in meetings, or talked over right before someone else repeats your idea and gets the credit, happens more than most people admit, and to some people a lot more than others.

Dr. Andrea Wojnicki is a Harvard-trained executive communication and personal branding coach, host of the Talk About Talk podcast, and a Harvard Business Review contributor who has spent her career studying exactly why this happens in meetings, and what to say the moment it does.

In this conversation, Ivan and Andrea break down the psychology of interruptions, the double standard between how men and women get judged for the same behavior, and the specific phrases and body language that shut an interruption down without sounding defensive.

In this episode:

• How to respond when someone interrupts you in a meeting, the exact words and body language, without pausing or sounding defensive
• Why interrupting is about power, not manners, and who gets interrupted most as a result
• Assertive or aggressive: why the same behavior gets judged differently for men and women, and how to navigate it
• The impossible tightrope women face in leadership, with two real examples of controlling the narrative instead of fighting it
• Internal versus external self-awareness, the communication skill that separates average leaders from exceptional ones
• When to let an interruption go, and when it's actually a power play worth confronting
• How meeting leaders and allies can build a culture where interrupting isn't tolerated

This one is for the woman who's tired of being talked over in meetings and wants a response that actually works, and for any leader who wants to fix this dynamic on their own team.

Connect with Dr. Andrea Wojnicki:
Website: talkabouttalk.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/andreawojnicki
Her book, Let Me Introduce Myself, on building your professional identity and personal brand, is out in 2027.

If you've ever felt like your ideas get overlooked until someone else says them louder, that's the same territory I explore in my book, Expired? The Science of Staying Indispensable in a World Obsessed with New, out now at ivanpalomino.net/expired-book-ivan-palomino.

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Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino.