Company meetings should be events where colleagues collectively think and act professional. Unfortunately, some colleagues only seem capable of thinking selfishly and acting rudely at a meeting. If you work with people who disrupt company meetings with the antics mentioned below, you might need the help of a facilitator.

Oversensitivity

When the Roman Emperor Nero read his bad poetry to the Roman senators, they had to praise his writing, or he would have them killed. Some colleagues bring the same approach to the meeting table—if you question their ideas, they take it as an insult, and resort to arguing to save their pride. That is better than resorting to man-eating lions, as Nero did, but it still takes the meeting in a bad direction. A meeting facilitator can keep meetings on track by diffusing someone’s oversensitive reactions.

Loquaciousness

Some people are the Energizer Bunnies of the boardroom—they keep talking and talking and talking and…you get the point. In most cases, these longwinded soliloquists have the best intentions—they want to communicate what they think is important information. In reality, their speech could be used as a sleep therapy. If a colleague’s loquaciousness is taking the “group” out of group meetings, hiring a meeting facilitator could help.

Gum Chewing

Without blowing a single bubble, corporate gum chewers can make their flexing jowls the visual focus of a meeting. Even worse is when they speak and chew gum at the same time, which makes them look like smart alecks, whether they are or not. The best way to diffuse gum chewers before their cud causes a disturbance is to remind them of company etiquette, or simply moo at them until they get the point.

Side Conversation

Having a side conversation during a meeting is rude—it disrespects the speaker, distracts people’s attention, and gives the impression that the conversationalists have something better to discuss than the topic of the meeting. While a brief side exchange between colleagues is usually acceptable, conversing in a way that would make a schoolteacher say “do you have something you’d like to share” is not.

Argumentativeness

If employees agreed on everything, a company would lack intellectual diversity. Some employees seem dedicated to being flies in the ointment. Are they dissatisfied with their salary? Are they just passionate about the company? One can never know for sure. One thing is certain—silencing a colleague who thrives on negativity can require the help of a meeting facilitator.

When Should You Hire a Meeting Facilitator?

Meeting facilitators cannot cure bad personalities, but they can keep meetings on track and help colleagues to arrive at productive solutions by employing facilitation strategies. If the antics of your colleagues are sabotaging your company’s meetings, hiring a facilitator from FindaFacilitator could help to restore order. To learn more about our services, call us today.