Competing Conversations: Meeting Management Tips

Opportunities to take meetings off course are legion. In some recent meetings I have attended, however, the toughest situation for the meeting leader in meeting management was competing conversations. The leader is listening to and focusing on the person who has the floor. Indeed, she is likely interested in what the participant has to say. It's easy to play ostrich and hope the competing conversations stop without intervention - but, they rarely do. Consequently, the leader's intervention interrupts the speaker and takes everyone off topic.

One way to circumvent the interruption of competing conversations as the meeting leader's responsibility, is to have the group establish norms or relationship guidelines. These team norms almost always specify that meeting participants can "call" each other on competing conversations and other behaviors that sabotage the accomplishment of the team's goal.

More Resources for Effective Meetings

• Meeting for Results.
• Ten Characters You'll Meet at a Business Meeting.
• Spice Up Your Company Meeting: Ten Tips for Meeting Planning.