How to stop interruptions in meetings

Do you have this problem with someone who keeps interrupting you in meetings?

Here’s what to do and an example of how it worked.

I was asked to run a meeting for a colleague who was having real trouble with one of the committee members (we’ll call her Beryl) who constantly interrupted everyone in the meetings. I’d seen the woman in action, so knew what he was up against.

I told him to follow my lead and not to worry about what I was doing if it seemed a bit strange.

Frame the meeting

At the beginning of the meeting I made it clear that everyone would get a chance to voice his or her opinion at each stage of the process.

We went through the first step. Beryl interrupted. I told her she would get her turn as soon as those ahead of her had been asked. I asked the others, then her. She voiced her concerns, which I summarised and noted to make it clear I had listened to them.

Proactive approach

After the next point, before she could interrupt (I could see her drawing breath) I told Beryl she would be asked as soon as it was her turn. Every time I saw her about to speak, I repeated the same process, and always made sure I asked her for her views.

After about half an hour she ran out of things to say. I persisted and kept asking her for her views. By the end of the meeting she was simply waving her hand to say she had nothing more to add.

My fellow school governors were astonished. She had been transformed in a matter of hours.

The secret of the transformation

Beryl just wanted to be heard. When she thought no one would listen, that just made her more determined to be heard. So she tried harder. Of course the more she tried, the more they resisted. The system was self-perpetuating.

Instead of falling in line with this system myself, I set up a new system, which meant that Beryl felt confident that she would have a chance to speak and be listened to. So all the effort was removed and she became, once again, a useful member of the team instead of a pain in the neck.

For more help with all kinds of difficult behaviour check our products to help you with difficult people and bullies.