Facilitating a workshop can be challenging, it can become even more difficult when there are different personalities in the room.
To ensure your workshop runs smoothly, try these techniques to manage the….
The loud one…
Sometimes workshops or meetings become dominated by an extroverted individual or a group of individuals. This person may not even realise that they are speaking the majority of the time. By doing so they are inhibiting others from participating fully. To combat this, try asking for one idea from each person to distribute contribution time evenly across the group. If this doesn’t work you could ask these individuals to let others speak more.
The quiet one…
Some people take longer to process information and prefer to delay speaking up until they have carefully considered the problem. Try to incorporate time for everyone to think about their answers before giving them. Also ask everyone to give one suggestion. This will ensure everyone is participating equally.
The difficult one…
When one person is hostile or negative this can dampen the environment and even compromise the psychological safety of the group. If there is an individual in your meeting or workshop who is difficult, talk to them individually and let them know that their behaviour is compromising the discussion. If they are still being problematic consider removing them from the session.
Those who cluster together…
Try splitting people up when they arrive. Consider having a seating plan or asking everyone to sit next to someone they don’t know too well or don’t work with, if this makes sense for the workshop.