Part 2: What To Do When Holding a Meeting with Silent Introverts & Overbearing Extroverts - Meeting Effectiveness Tips from FireFly Facilitation
Part 2 of the series from Kimberly's interview with Dr. Jennifer Kahnweiler for Jennifer's teleseminar on Mastering Meetings
for Introverts. Click here to view the first post in the series.
The Top 8 things to do if you are
the meeting leader or facilitator…
6. Always give them time to think. Everyone
needs time to think before speaking in order to be effective – whether we take
the time to do it or not. Before
expecting a free-wheeling, productive discussion on a topic, pose the question
– and then give them 2 to 3 minutes to jot down their thoughts. This allows introverts a chance to gather
their thoughts before they speak – which they like to do – and forces extroverts
to do the same – which they hate (I should know!)
7. Mix up the facilitation processes to maximize
interaction. Instead of always discussing things
in a large group, first give them individual thinking time (see above), then have
them discuss it in small groups. The
smaller the number (3-5 is best), the more the interaction. You can also use round robins as a tool for
ensuring that everyone weighs in on a topic. Mix up where you start each round robin to keep people on their toes. This is especially effective for keeping
participation high in virtual meetings.
8. Call
on introverts to respond to direct questions – but use this tactic sparingly and
carefully. Make sure that they can
answer the question effectively – you might need to make clear why you are
calling on them in particular (e.g. because of their expertise or experience
with this issue). Must be careful not to
appear to label them as introverts and someone in need of your help or
protection from the extroverts – they can speak for themselves if they are
given the opportunity.
Look for Part 3 - What to do if you are the introvert - coming soon!
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