How To Silence The Over-Talkers In Meetings

If you’ve been in organizational life for longer than a week, you’ve probably been dragged into a meeting…a meeting with an over-talker. You know the type. Over-talkers are those colleagues who feel compelled to provide commentary on each point — sometimes talking over others in order to express it. They’re the ones who ask “questions” that are actually just rambling declarations of opinion that end with a “so what are you thoughts on that?”

The big problem with over-talkers, besides the time wasted, is the effect over-talkers have on others in the room. Quieter, more introverted, and often lower “status” members of the organization that are in on the meeting don’t get the opportunity to offer their comments — and so we end up making a decision or even just assuming consensus when not every perspective has been taken into account. One loud person asserts themselves in every single situation when what you really need is to hear multiple different voices.

Short of a total personality overhaul, it’s hard to permanently silence an over-talker, but there are some things you can do in the meeting to lessen the opportunities they have to butt in. My favorite:

Pair-and-Share

When it comes to discussion points in the meeting, pair people up. No need to over-think it, just have them pair up with the…