Dealing with someone who dominates a meeting

Do you know a blowhard who dominates meetings? Maybe it’s an exec who has to be the smartest person in the room and just loves the sound of his own voice? Here are some strategies to train them out of their bad behavior.

First, you may want to pre-empt them, and not even let them get started. Maybe give them a heads-up before the meeting that you’re short on time and have to stay focused, or where you’d like their input.

If they do interrupt the conversation, you can quickly say, “John, I’ll get to you in a minute…”

Once they do get going, though, interrupting them probably won’t help, as they may find it irritating and validation to continue blabbing on. Instead, listen without expression. As painful as that may be, you may drain the engagement without confrontation.

When you do have a moment to speak, try to respond only to their core issue, if it's relevant to the topic under discussion, otherwise, do your best to move them along. Just say “Thank you, John” and move on as if they never spoke.

Never let them summarize. “I think we got the point, can we move on?”

And if all else fails, you may actually have to take them aside (either during or after the meeting) and explain to them how their behavior is affecting the group.