Challenging Behaviors, Part II

This is the second newsletters in which I explore some challenging behaviors in groups, and strategize ways for a facilitator to respond to them.

1. A few members dominating the conversation: This dynamic is not uncommon as some people are naturally more vocal and comfortable speaking in group situations than others. However common it might be however, the group does miss out on everyone’s input when a few people dominate. The typical mistake facilitators make in this situation is trying to control the talkative members. This often leads to the more verbal participants feeling cut off or silenced. And it can violate the cardinal rule of facilitation which is to never make participants look bad. A much more successful strategy is to turn the attention to those not speaking and invite them in. You might say, “I wonder how others feel?”, or “Let’s hear from someone who has not addressed this topic yet.” Or, if others are silent you might ask, “I am wondering if this conversation represents something that is important to all of you and when I invite others to weigh in and nobody speaks, I begin to conclude that many of you would like to move on, is that correct?”

2. Group members are having side conversations in the back of the room: Again, the trap facilitators fall into is addressing the “disruptive folks” in a way that scolds them. Always let group members save face. As an alternative you might say, “I am aware of some restlessness in the room and I am wondering if the group needs to take a break?” Sometimes I apologize for not being able to concentrate (or being so easily distracted) and ask that the group try to limit itself to one conversation at a time. You might also need to adjust the process and see if you can get participants moving around or working in small groups for a short while. If there are a number of side conversations going on at once, the topic might not be important to the group and they may want to move on.

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