This approach works best if you are a peer of the person or in a non-leadership role.
For instance, you could say, “Thanks, Tyler. I like that idea. Mary, do you have any ideas on how to increase fourth quarter revenue?” Acknowledging the person who is speaking too long tells them to relinquish the floor in a gentle way, and then gives someone else the chance to speak. [3] X Research source
You can do this by orienting away from them to someone else, crossing your arms and/or legs, and acknowledging the next person by making contact. If you are in a supervisory role, getting up and walking around the table can help signify a change of pace and let the person know it is time to move on to someone else. [4] X Research source This is a good option if you are running the meeting or if you are the person’s supervisor or manager.
Ask to finish. True enough, you shouldn’t have to ask to finish talking when you have the full attention of all but one person. But, doing this firmly can help the interrupter remember that you were, indeed, talking and you’d like to complete your thought. Say, “Hey, Randy, I wasn’t finished. Can you hold your comments for a second?” Keep talking as if you did not notice their attempt to butt in. Although this could lead to a confusing moment of both of you talking at once, the other person will probably recognize that you won’t be handing the floor over to them. Hopefully, they’ll relent.
For example, you could say, “You are very involved and knowledgeable about this topic, but it is important that other people also feel free to make their contributions. Plus, if you are providing all of the information, other people are going to have a hard time participating. ” Saying this offers encouragement, but also gets the point across.
Getting them involved too, instead of just letting one person dominate the meeting, will encourage them to speak up and not allow someone to take the floor the entire time. You can simply say, “In our office, all opinions are valued. So, everyone deserves an opportunity to speak. Those of you who are timid will need to assert yourselves, and those of you who do all the talking need to start sharing the floor. "
Ramblers may want to interrupt, but if they do just hold up a finger and say “Everyone will have a chance to speak, Ricky. . . Go on, Meredith. ”
Let everyone know what the time limit is a few days ahead of the meeting if they will be expected to develop presentations, or inform them at the beginning of the meeting of their allotted time. [8] X Research source
For instance, say, “My goodness, Charles, I’ve never seen you so attentive in a meeting before. I bet you took a lot of great notes to put into practice. If you have some more ideas you’d like to discuss, you’re welcome to come by my office hours. ” This gives them positive reinforcement, and lets them know that you would like them to listen to ideas, instead of perhaps always presenting them. And, if they do happen to have ideas to share, there are other outlets to do them that don’t involve commanding meetings. [9] X Research source
Starting the meeting by setting these rules can help the meeting run as it is supposed to. It may prevent your team from getting off topic, and encourage them to work together to come up with ideas. [10] X Research source Say something like “Hey, everyone, I’m sure you all have much to discuss, but this will be a short meeting today. The topic of focus is the annual charity event. Let’s stick to that so we can make some progress. ”
Stop the groups after about 10 minutes to limit their time talking and to show that you don’t need massive amounts of time to come up with a solution.
