When instant-messaging with a friend of mine (born in the USA), I used to say wait to interrupt her because I didn't understand something she said, or because she was talking about something for which she had a misunderstanding.
Every time I said that, she replied as if I said wait for me before moving away from my computer to do something, with the result that sometimes she would move away from her computer. This would not happen in a face-to-face communication, since she would notice I was not going anywhere, and there would not be a long delay between the moment I say wait, and when I say what I wanted to say; with instant-messaging, there can be a delay from the moment I write a message and when I complete the next one.
Is there a better/preferable phrase I should use in these cases?
In Italian, aspetta would be a common, informal phrase to use in these cases, but clearly literally translating it didn't have the expected result.