- 1). Wait for the speaker to pause. People naturally pause in conversation to collect their thoughts or catch their breath, and if you interject at this point, you avoid cutting them off in mid-sentence.
- 2). Identify a word within the conversation that relates to something more interesting or suitable for discussion, and use it to shift the topic. For example, if your coworker is describing his cat's eating habits in endless detail, you could say, "Speaking of cats," and tell a fun fact or story about them. Ask questions related to the word or topic if you have nothing to add.
- 3). Identify an object in your immediate surroundings to discuss or ask questions about. "By the way, did you see the new espresso machine in the break room? I can't believe the boss got that for us."
- 4). Tell the person you're not comfortable discussing the topic, but show that you care about her perspective. For example, if your friend is speaking poorly about another friend of yours, you could say, "I see why you're upset with her, but because I care about you both, I think it's best if you discuss it with her or someone who's not involved."
- 5). Tell a joke about something related to the topic.
- 6). Use self-deprecating humor to lighten the mood and change the topic if a conversation becomes argumentative or too intense for comfort. By picking on yourself, you can sometimes diffuse the situation without blaming or insulting the other person.
- 7). Apologize for interrupting. Sometimes you need to cut someone off so you can ask a question or refocus the conversation on an important topic. "I'm sorry, but I think we're skirting around the issue."
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