If you are a manager or administrative leader, you may have had to conduct a meeting with varying personalities and points of view. If you have experienced disturbances or interruptions during a meeting and want some pointers on how to best handle the situation, BDLive reported some tips adapted from HBR.org.
Here are five key points:
1. Ask for input from your team. If they feel they contributed to the content, they will be less likely to interrupt.
2. Be genuinely curious instead of frustrated when calmly responding to the person who interrupted, and respond with validation and confidence.
3. Remember to dig into the points brought up. The objective should not always be to move on.
4. Use body language and nonverbal communication to re-claim control of the situation, such as standing behind the interrupter while speaking.
5. Meet with people one-on-one after a tense meeting to ask questions.