Collaboration &Teamwork
Practitioner Experience
Experience an Embedded Practice in real work.
Let them finish. The impulse to speak arrives before the other person is done — the practice is one thing: wait.
The impulse to speak arrives before the other person has finished. The practice is one thing: let them finish.
When does this matter?
In any collaborative meeting or conversation, when you feel the urge to speak before the other person has finished their sentence.
What do I do?
Close your mouth if it's open. Count one silent beat. Let them finish fully — including the part after the part you think is the end.
How will I know it's working?
You'll know it's working when you start catching the impulse before your mouth opens, not after.
How do I know it worked?
People finish their sentences in your presence. You start hearing the second half of what they were going to say.
- You speak before the other person finishes.
- You miss the second half of what they were saying.
- You wait for the full sentence, past the part that sounded like the end.
- You hear what you would have missed.
Let them finish — the whole sentence, not just the part that sounded done.