This episode explores some techniques for facilitating meetings with stronger personalities or those that dominate the discussion too much.

Dominant people tend to

• Hog the discussion
• Be the first to speak speak
• Often want to make sure they are heard at the expense of others

It’s the faciliator’s job to

• Be a referee
• Keep input balanced
• Make sure all voices and perspectives are heard
• Keep things moving so that the meeting doesn’t get bogged down or go in circles

I confront dominators by

• Being courageous and assertive
• Acknowledging the dominant person and then opening the floor to others
• Blaming the agenda
• Reminding the group that it’s important that all perspectives are heard and shared
• Interrupting the dominator (if needed) to redirect the discussion

Other ways to handle people who regularly dominate the discussion

• Talk to the person outside of the meeting and express your concerns
• Be clear that you value their input and you will continue to moderate future conversations
• It’s not personal, it’s just to make sure that we’re getting equal input and participation from the rest of the group
• Ask them if they have ideas on how to make the meeting discussion more productive for everyone that will still honor their need to share
• Ask them not to attend
• Drop them from the meeting invite (this one could obviously have collateral damage and may not be advised)

Consequences of not confronting dominators

• You’ll lose your roll as a strong facilitator
• People may shutdown and check out
• Participants may start multi-tasking and become disengaged
• People you really need input from will stop coming to the meeting
• Your meeting will narrow in perspetive and views
• Less creative solutions may come from your meeting discussions
• Things will probably get worse

 

Music

• Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod
• Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod

All songs licensed under Creative Commons

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