Have you ever been in a meeting when someone just does not stop talking?
When you start a meeting, let the group know you want everyone to speak. Tell the incessant talker to let others join the conversation and make sure you go back to those who get interrupted.
Most of all, if you get interrupted say that you were not finished and you want to hear from others with their thougths on your points.
All sound obvious? Maybe, but if you do not lead the meeting this way you may as well close it out.
An article in Harvard Business Review from November 2017 entitled “Why Gen-X CEO Hired a Millennial to Help Him Keep a Learning Mindset” provided a fascinating but light hearted look at the generation gap in the workplace.
A summary of the article circulated by HBR read:
It will happen to all of us someday: A younger generation enters the workforce and becomes the most sought-after consumers, and the rest of us feel left behind. One way to keep up is to ask a younger colleague to mentor you. This is especially important when it comes to technology, since the best tools for the job may be ones you haven’t heard about. Ask your younger mentor what trends they’re noticing and what new technologies they’re experimenting with. Your junior [colleague] can also help you avoid dating yourself. It’s easy for older workers to start saying things like, “Back in my day…,” but that will make you seem less relevant. Ask your mentor to point out when you’re referring to the past too often. It’s better for someone you trust to mention it than for customers or colleagues to secretly think it.
We all know someone who could benefit from this article…
The article is by John Barrows and HBR subscribers can read it here.
