Overtalkers: An easy way to make every meeting more equitable
One of the questions I get a lot is what to do about group meetings where you can real dominant talkers, there’s so many ways, including Two Minute 360s, but a super quick one that really shakes things up is Three Pens:
Give everyone 3 pens (or other object you have around). If you’re in a virtual meeting, have enough grab 3 pens and place them in front of themselves.
Explain you’re trying an experiment for the next 3 meetings:
“I have an experiment for the next 3 meetings to help us hear from all the brains . Every time you speak up (either a question or a statement) in the meeting, you’ll place one of your pens in the center of the table (or put it away if it’s a virtual meeting). When you run out of pens, you’re done talking! This will let others who still have pens get time to speak. If you aren’t using any of your pens, don’t deny us your brain! You can use your pens not just to offer your official opinion, but also to ask clarifying questions, to let us know where you’re at such as ‘I’m still mulling this over”, or to state agreement with others “I agree with Ji and Ross on _____”. We’ll debrief on how this worked in 3 meetings, it might feel weird, but it’s worth a shot to ensure we find creative ways to tap everyone’s brains, not just dominant speakers.”If someone complains they ran out of pens and have more things to say, offer other ways they can share their thoughts (“Write that thought down - we’ll come back to it when everyone has used at least 2 of their pens”).
Why this works:
Most dominant talkers are not aware of how unbalanced their contribution is compared with other teammates, this gives them a chance to see it.
Dominance in group discussions is also a habit (hard to break). The pens give them a visual so they can pace themselves and break the habit.
Likewise, quiet teammates increase their participation when the group explicitly creates a structure that makes room for their participation, as well as when they can visualize their participation.
It usually takes 3 or more meetings for people to get the hang of it (dominant speakers learn how to pace themselves, and quiet folks learn it’s safe to speak up more often).