To be fuming about this work meeting?

If he says something that's wrong, firmly say, "No that's not correct, Steve." And provide the correct information looking straight at him; and be prepared to hold your hand up and say, "Please let me speak" if he tries to interrupt you again while you are correcting him.

I fucking hate men like this. Bastards.

Practising with a friend really helps. Record it too so you can listen back and hear the poise and authority in your voice. Once you've done it for real once, you'll wonder why you didn't start earlier.

The most challenging asserting-myself-with-an-interrupting-male-colleague was when I was giving a presentation to a group of about 20 colleagues (City financial services firm, 1990s) and the most senior person there, European director level, English, piped up with 'I think the reason (my name) is doing so much for this part of the business is because she and (name of MD of subsidiary) are DOING IT!!' He was very pleased with himself. In the stunned silence that followed, I remember thinking how important it was for me to not allow the remark to derail me and to react assertively so I very slowly walked towards him, looking him straight in the eye, then said, very calmly and politely, looking down at him in his chair: 'May I please carry on with my presentation now, X?'. Public sexual harassment. What a d*ckhead.

I once presented MY strategy at a board meeting (the only woman in the room) and had it explained back to me by a kind elderly gentleman.

I view this as bad advice. It's passive aggressive and, as you say, condescending. It's best to speak up but remain professional.

You will get a lot more respect at work once you can stand up for yourself. It isn’t being argumentative or difficult to tell Steve to stop interrupting or speaking over you - it’s being assertive which is different. The senior managers will be more impressed with you saying ‘Steve, please let me finish speaking’ than you hoping someone else will step in to rescue you

Very well put, @Smokesandeats

As for "how" to do it, @olegsyka, firstly remember you have an advantage in that next time you'll be prepared for this, secondly maybe practice with a friend ... read your presentation after asking them to interrupt you and use some of the great suggestions above ... and lastly remember that the more you do this the easier it becomes

Can people please stop with the Steve's.

Swap Steve for Karen & see how that makes you feel?

I love this.
Someone under me is going for a promotion and she said she gets nervous at interviews. I told her to pretend she’s a mediocre white man. She had no clue what I was on about, so we talked about some of the men in the office and surrounding offices, the ones who are all voice, get the promotions but are nothing special they just know how to be seen and heard. I said you need some of their confidence, because they just assume the are the balls, and she needs to assume that as well!

I go the patronising route - with a smile:

"Oh Steve, I don't think you've quite understood the question. The answer to that question is..." while smiling condescending at Steve

Puts him in his place and looks to senior management as though you're a supportive team player (who actually knows what's going on as opposed to steve)

"I bit my tongue" - you need to stop doing that, @olegsyka - speak up firmly and shut Steve down. As others have said, channel your own inner Steve.

This.

''Steve, Please don't interrupt while I am speaking''

Don't let him steamroller you next time.

The more you do it, the easier it will become. And you need to feel like you deserve a seat at the table (which you do) and try to snuff out that inner voice that tells you it's your job not to ruffle feathers, to keep everyone happy and feeling good about themselves. That's not your job.

Steve obviously didn't give a shit about coming across as aggressive, rude and ignorant. And the hideous thing is, he will be rewarded for it. Senior management don't give a shit who does a job, they just care that it gets done. So if you don't shout about your achievements, they will make no effort to find out about them. Also try to develop relationships with senior staff who will sing your praises when you're not in the room and push you forward for promotion and pay rises.

As to practicalities, take a breath and say your piece. Don't wait for Steve to stop talking, just loudly interrupt. e.g. "I have to injerject here, Steve. Actually, the result was...blah blah blah." If you're too shy to do this at first, write down in advance what your possible answers to an interruption or incorrect comment could be and run through the scenario in your head. Pretend you're a barrister and you have to anticipate the other side's potential argument and have various counter-arguments prepared.

e.g. you know Steve always tries to grab the credit, so you might want to say something like, "Actually, as the lead on this project, I developed x, y, z..." or "It would be great to work with you in the future Steve, but I lead this project and I've got to give credit to (name whoever else was on your team, so Steve looks like a dick trying to steal credit from everyone) Jan and Bob who were a massive help on implementation"

e.g. you know Steve knows jackshit about the project and will come out with complete nonsense at some point, just so he gets to say something loud in front of Big Boss. Interrupt him and say, "Actually, as those on the project will know, the issues discovered were..." or use the 'I've got to interject here' example above. You just need to push your way back into the conversation and keep going. Don't give Steve air time.

Particular bugbear of mine. This would be my line.....

"I'm going to have to stop you there, Steve, maybe save your comments and I can answer them at the end." Leave a two beat gap.. "As I was saying....."

If he interrupts after that just give him a withering look and carry on. Nobber.

I do this. The best advice I ever followed was this: when thinking about salary expectations, go up until you reach a number that seems obscene and then ask for that, because that's what a man would ask. I did this at my current company and it worked. I still pinch myself over two years later, wondering why they pay me so much.

More and more I am out for myself and just mind my own business. Things fall through the cracks or get fucked up even though I knew they would and saw it coming, but they aren't my business and I am no longer the woman 'helping' or 'preventing a cock up'. To many women it seems selfish, but we were just socialised the wrong way. There is nothing selfish about protecting your own boundaries, prioritise things you like doing or that are within your set of responsibilities and let everything else be. I have become pretty good at this. What I am not good at is the mental side of things as I still ruminate about fairness, question myself, feel guilty etc.

You will get a lot more respect at work once you can stand up for yourself. It isn’t being argumentative or difficult to tell Steve to stop interrupting or speaking over you - it’s being assertive which is different. The senior managers will be more impressed with you saying ‘Steve, please let me finish speaking’ than you hoping someone else will step in to rescue you.

Maybe you might benefit from some assertiveness training if you lack confidence. I can recommend a book ‘Feel the fear but do it anyway’ which I found helpful many years ago.

A senior manager would have noticed his behaviour but they would have noticed yours too and the fact that you didn’t redirect the conversation away from him

The fact that your boss didn’t do anything too is shit and as the senior manager in the room I would be having a word with her about the behaviour of her staff ie him

You have been given some good examples of things to say but don’t let senior managers in the room put you off putting someone in their place in a professional way. I know I would be more impressed by that than someone not doing it

I had a boss just like this and his name actually was Steve 😆

This is so annoying, all the more so because it happens to so many women. I've dealt with it as previous posters suggest - remaining super-professional but being assertive in the meeting. Tone is everything. It's a matter of personal preference, but I would always want to deal with it myself as it feels a bit limp to involve line managers, IMO. It's disappointing your line manager didn't intervene though.Your senior managers may be impressed by you being assertive, rather than seeing you as a stroppy trouble maker.

If you are really interested in understanding why men seek to dominate work conversations, Dale Spender's 'Man-made language' is worth reading.

There's a guy called Jefferson Fisher on TikTok/Insta who has suggestions and strategies for this kind of thing. I've used some at work and found them quite helpful.

ETA he also has a podcast. Just seen he has one on one-uppers - wish I'd listened to it before I called a colleague an eleven-erifer and he got offended 😂

@olegsyka I didn’t want to come across as difficult or argumentative

This is the source of the issue and you need to tackle your own mindset about this first. Try to reflect on why you see defending your position as a confrontation, being difficult or argumentative. If you look at the suggestions generally made in this thread, there is absolutely nothing in them that is either difficult or argumentative. Therefore, it is just your perception. Do you generally see any kind of disagreement as a confrontation, being difficult, making a fuss and being argumentative? If so, maybe the roots of that are in either your childhood or your youth. If that's the case, you can't fix either of those but you certainly can start with practicing seeing this type of situations differently in a more safe environment. For example, if you are talking to your friends, relatives, more friendly colleagues etc and disagree with them on any topic (doesn't matter what the subject matter is), try expressing your opinions in the moment. Do it often and trust me you will get desensitised and used to it.

She didn't.

The only person linking this with the fact her colleague is a man is you.

@Twatalert good God, for a moment I thought your Steve had lost his mind until I clocked your user name 😆

Why didnt you just stand up for yourself?

Dont blame it on him being a man, women do this as well!

And keep saying it, if it doesn't work first time

Just say "may I finish speaking please"