How to Get a Meeting Back on Track

Most of us have been in meetings that have gotten tense—maybe even gone off the rails. We've seen dueling monologues, hidden agendas and, sometimes, pure pandemonium as participants compete for attention and struggle for validation. But, according to Joseph Grenny, bestselling author and co-founder of VitalSmarts corporate training, “It can be surprisingly easy to bring order to a chaotic meeting — and to turn conflict back into conversation — if you know how.”
 
Grenny offers four steps for getting a derailed meeting back on track:
 

1. Interrupt the chaos: As you attempt to intervene, decelerate the pace of your speech. You may need to raise your voice a decibel or two to be heard, but once you’ve attracted attention, lower your voice and speed. For example, you might say, slowly and calmly, “Hey, team, let me take a moment to point out something I’m noticing.”
2. Shift to process: Lay out what appears to be happening, without assigning blame, and the consequences of continuing down the current path. Once you’ve described the situation, it's important to ask the group to confirm your observation. Once participants explicitly acknowledge the process problem, they become more likely to support the solution.
3. Propose a structure: Offer a process that ensures all will be heard and that slows the pace in order to quell the emotions. Then ask all participants to commit to it.
4. Honor the agreement: Lingering emotions may ignite a few attempts to breach boundaries. If this happens, point out the discrepancy, and ask participants if they want to continue with their commitment.

 
How did you handle the last tense meeting you were in? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

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