It’s difficult to have a group discussions where everyone participates, you stay on topic, one person doesn’t dominate the conversation.
And the challenge thickens when group discussions are held in a remote environment.
Some strategies to overcome these barriers are:
- Be clear on the agenda beforehand to keep everyone on track.
- Identify a champion and ask them to share or ask a question so you aren’t the sole one driving the discussion.
- Leverage silence. This is one of my favorites. Restate the question as many times as needed and just wait for someone to answer.
- Provide opportunities for members of the group to step up in leadership. When was the last time you asked someone to lead the entire agenda and you can move to a supporting role?
And on the bright side, adapting to remote discussions will identify best practices to carry over to our in person discussions.
Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash.