{"id":5580,"date":"2017-04-20T00:01:59","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T04:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/?p=5580"},"modified":"2023-10-03T18:24:45","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T22:24:45","slug":"problems-in-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/problems-in-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Manage Challenging Personality Types to Avoid Problems in Meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"font-size: 24pt;\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/20\/problem-meetings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">problem<\/a> person causes a meeting <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/remove-distractions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">distraction<\/a>. Their message is ineffective because some characteristic gets in the way of <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/03\/clear-communications\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">communicating<\/a> clearly. Always empower your participants, but learn to control challenging personality types to avoid problems in meetings.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">First of all, the deliverable or decision is theirs, not yours. Therefore, manage politics by removing ideas from the individual participant and turning them over to the entire group. Because it\u2019s not WHO is right, but rather <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/decision-quality\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WHAT<\/a> is right that we seek. All ideas belong to all participants\u2014never to an individual. While \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/ground-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ground Rules<\/a>\u2019 help mitigate some behavior, firmer action is required for select individuals. As a result, difficult participants known to cause problem meetings are discussed below.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>\u201c<em>Politikos<\/em>\u201d &#8212; Nature of the Problem Person<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The term \u2018<em>Politikos<\/em>\u2019 means \u2018the science of people. You deal more ably with participants as you gain more experience. However, there is a certain degree of comfort in recognizing that there are some common patterns of behavior that are likely to occur. Keep one thing in mind, however; participants cause problems only for a certain time. Often a participant causing a problem becomes productive in a different situation. <em>Never\u00a0label a\u00a0person\u00a0permanently\u00a0as a\u00a0problem person.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Firm But Flexible, How to Manage\u00a0Personality\u00a0Types in Problem Meetings<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">You identify participants displaying problems because they generally disrupt the session. Sometimes, however, they don\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/meeting-participants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">participate<\/a>. When you have a problem person in a meeting, their contribution remains unclear because some characteristic gets in the way of communication. To deal with the people on the ends of the curve (i.e., the outliers), assume that people have good intentions and focus your energy on discovering what is causing the difficulty.\u00a0 In other words, <em>identify the problem\u2014do\u00a0<u>not<\/u>\u00a0highlight the problem person<\/em>\u00a0(or, person with the problem).<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4836\" style=\"width: 513px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img wpfc-lazyload-disable=\"true\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4836\" class=\"wp-image-4836 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/HowToHandleProblemPerson.png\" alt=\"Difficult Meeting Participants, problem meetings\" width=\"503\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/HowToHandleProblemPerson.png 503w, https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/HowToHandleProblemPerson-300x209.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 503px) 100vw, 503px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-4836\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Problems in Meetings and Difficult Participants<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>People Principles to Remember<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Following are guiding principles for dealing with people (all based on \u201cTreat others as you wish to be treated\u201d):<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Never embarrass people<\/strong>, especially in public. People . . .<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">are creative if asked.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">are intrinsically reasonable.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">do not like to be blamed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">have different goals in life.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">prefer the positive to the negative.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">share similar fears.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Motivation of People<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">People are motivated by:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Need to control (power motivation)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">They rebel against a loss of control.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Turf issues arise.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Need to excel (achievement motivation)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">People don\u2019t want to look bad in a group.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">All participants are speaking publicly\u2014public speaking scares many people.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Need to bond (affiliation motivation)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Attacks and win-lose situations affect participants\u2019 ability or willingness to bond.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Managing\u00a0<\/strong><strong>the Problem Person<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Determine what is motivating a participant you are dealing with. Once you understand their motivation, use the following sequence of guidelines to deal with them.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">First, determine and correct the cause of the problem person<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Mitigate the symptom if the cause cannot be corrected by:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Ground rules<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Body position<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Eye contact<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Talking with the participant during a break<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Enlist help from the business partner or executive sponsor.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Last resort\u2014have the problem person\u00a0removed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">When erratic or distracting behavior occurs, prepare to control it. While \u2018Ground Rules\u2019 may help contain much of the non-malicious behavior, additional interventions are required for select personality types. The following table lists the characteristics of difficult participants that could cause problem meetings. Each comes with thoughtful and proven suggestions on how to deal with them.<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 2798px; width: 997px;\" width=\"768\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>NAME<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>CHARACTERISTICS<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>WHAT TO DO<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Attacker<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Launches verbal, personal attacks on other group members and\/ or facilitator; constantly ridicules a specific point of view.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Stand between two people fighting; stop attacks; maybe use additional ground rules \u2028to control.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Backseat Driver<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Keeps telling the session leader or facilitator what to do\u2014or not do; attempts to control the meeting by changing the methodology.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Listen to some comments\u2014because they may be good; never turn over control; talk to them during breaks; enforce scope.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Broken Record<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Bringing up the same point repeatedly; and constantly trying to focus discussion of this issue; can prevent the group from moving ahead to new items even if ready.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The broken record needs to be heard.\u00a0 Document their input but do not make it an open item until later in the workshop.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Busybody<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Ducking in and out of meetings does not ask subordinates to hold calls, and gives the impression of being too busy (and therefore important) to devote full attention to the meeting and the group.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Deal with similar to the latecomer or early leaver; try to establish rules to control during preparation. Allow frequent bio-breaks for people to react to their electronic leashes.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Dropout<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Constantly engaged with their smartphones or laptop; expresses disapproval or dislike by ignoring the proceedings; may read, or do unrelated paperwork to avoid getting engaged in the session.\u00a0 Caution, a doodler is not dropping out\u2014they may be a horizontal thinker.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Use laser focus so that they know that you see them. During a break, talk to them. Do NOT publicly call out their name and ask for participation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Encourage your culture to embrace \u201ctopless meetings\u201d that prohibit laptops and smart devices.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Early Leaver<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Drains the group\u2019s energy and morale by leaving the meeting before its end.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Handle similar to a latecomer; do not stop the meeting for one person.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Head Shaker<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Actively expresses disapproval through body language and nonverbal cues such as rolling eyes, shaking head, crossing and uncrossing arms, sighing, etc.\u00a0 Covertly may influence a group to reject an idea.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Approach the head shaker. Use open hands to ask them to explain a viable, counter position. Do not allow these nonverbal cues to continue unnoticed.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Interpreter<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Always speaks for someone else, usually without an invitation to do so; restates ideas or meanings and frequently distorts it in the process.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">First, get the original speaker to confirm without embarrassing or putting them on the spot. Then pass the \u201ctalking stick\u201d to the interpreter for their own point of view.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Interrupter<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Jumps into the discussion and cuts off someone else\u2019s comments; acts impatient, too excited, or concerned that own ideas will not be acknowledged.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Stop them immediately to protect the source; always get back to them but do not allow them to interrupt; they will learn.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Know-it-all<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Uses credentials, age, seniority, etc., to argue a point; focuses group attention on opinion and status as opposed to the real issue.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Often a supervisor or manager; writes it down to satisfy and challenge them about relevancy to the holarchy and for evidence.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Latecomer<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Arrives late to meetings, makes a show of arrival, and insists on catching up and stopping the group midstream.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Use 50-minute meeting intervals.\u00a0 Enforce the \u201cBe Here Now\u201d ground rule.\u00a0 Do not interrupt the meeting.\u00a0 Review during a break, not during the meeting.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Loudmouth<\/em><\/strong><strong><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>(Monopolizers)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Talks too often and too loudly; dominates the discussion; seemingly impossible to shut up; maybe someone who has a higher rank than other group members.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Record input if on topic. If not, a direct conversation away; stand in front of a person for a short time; talk to them during the break.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Negative Nancy<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Voiced skepticism, shrouded with genuine concern.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Use the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/facilitate-speakers-conferences\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What\u2014So What\u2014Now What<\/a>\u201d tool.\u00a0 They may know something significant. Meet them privately before the meeting.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/quiet-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Quiet Person<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>While it is true that we are not going to convert quiet people into aggressive extroverts who dominate a meeting, there are steps that facilitators can take to transform the velocity of contributions from quieter participants.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">1. Interview your participants<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">2. Breakout sessions<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">3. Non-verbal solicitation<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">4. Reinforce during break<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">5. Round-robins &amp; Post-it note approaches<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Sleeper<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Challenged to stay awake, especially during late afternoon sessions.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Ideally, open a window.\u00a0 Practically, walk around them if possible or lead a quick ergonomic break.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Uninvited<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Show up without an invitation<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Explain and enforce the role of Observer, noting they may speak during breaks.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 222.150726px;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Whisperer<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 353.253662px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Constantly whispering during meetings, holding offside conversations; upstaging the facilitator or session leader, as well as other group members.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 398.290436px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Hence, standing close to the whisperer(s) will stop their conversation.\u00a0 Enforce one conversation at a time with the entire group.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>______<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Don\u2019t ruin your career by hosting <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/bad-meetings\/\">bad meetings<\/a>. Sign up for a <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/public-facilitation-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">workshop<\/a> or send this to someone who should. <em><a href=\"http:\/\/mgrush.com\/\">MGR<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">USH<\/span><\/a><\/em> workshops focus on meeting design and practice. Each person practices tools, methods, and activities daily during the week. Therefore, while some call this immersion, we call it the road to building high-value facilitation skills.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Our workshops also provide a superb way to earn up to 40 SEUs from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scrumalliance.org\/\">Scrum Alliance,<\/a>\u00a040 CDUs from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iiba.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">IIBA<\/a>, 40\u00a0Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) based on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fai.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/pdfss\/Continuous%20Professional%20Learning%20FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Federal Acquisition Certification Continuous Professional Learning Requirements<\/a> using Training and Education activities, 40 Professional Development Units (PDUs) from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.value-eng.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SAVE International<\/a>, as well as 4.0 CEUs for other professions. <em>(See <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/public-facilitation-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">workshop<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Meetings-That-Get-Results-Facilitators\/dp\/1523093153\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NPK8XFX5YK0R&amp;keywords=meetings+that+get+results&amp;qid=1693248713&amp;sprefix=meetings+that%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reference Manual<\/a> descriptions for details.) <\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><em>Want a free 10-minute break timer? Sign up for our once-monthly newsletter <a href=\"http:\/\/lp.constantcontact.com\/su\/cGfWF4z\">HERE<\/a> and receive a free timer along with four other of our favorite facilitation tools.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A problem person causes a meeting distraction. Their message is ineffective because some characteristic gets in the way of communicating clearly. Always empower your participants, but learn to control challenging personality types to avoid problems in meetings. First of all, the deliverable or decision is theirs, not yours. Therefore, manage politics by removing ideas from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[453185969,453185952,453185953,55884429],"tags":[453192400,453192401,453192402,453192403,453190644,453192396,453192404,453192405,453192406,453192407,453192408,453192409,453192410,453192411,453192412,453191017],"class_list":["post-5580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication-skills","category-facilitation-skills","category-managing-conflict","category-meeting-support","tag-attacker","tag-backseat","tag-broken-record","tag-busybody","tag-difficult-participants","tag-driver","tag-dropout","tag-early-leaver","tag-head-shaker","tag-interpreter","tag-interrupter","tag-know-it-all","tag-latecomer","tag-loudmouth-monopolizers","tag-negative-nancy-quiet-person-sleeper-uninvited-whisperer","tag-problem-meetings"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.0 (Yoast SEO v24.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Problems in Meetings: How to Manage Challenging Personalities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Always empower your participants, but learn to control challenging personality types to avoid problems in meetings and problem people.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/problems-in-meetings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Manage Challenging Personality Types to Avoid Problems in Meetings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Always empower your participants, but learn to control challenging personality types to avoid problems in meetings and problem people.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/problems-in-meetings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MG RUSH Facilitation Best Practices Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FacilitationTraining\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FacilitationTraining\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-20T04:01:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-03T22:24:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ProblemPersonalities1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"234\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Facilitation Expert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TerrenceMetz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@terrencemetz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Facilitation Expert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/problems-in-meetings\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/problems-in-meetings\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Facilitation Expert\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/33b05e43036ff09de0ddfccfef9a4497\"},\"headline\":\"How To Manage Challenging Personality Types to Avoid Problems in Meetings\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-20T04:01:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-03T22:24:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/problems-in-meetings\/\"},\"wordCount\":1496,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/problems-in-meetings\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ProblemPersonalities1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Attacker\",\"Backseat\",\"Broken Record\",\"Busybody\",\"Difficult Participants\",\"Driver\",\"Dropout\",\"Early Leaver\",\"Head Shaker\",\"Interpreter\",\"Interrupter\",\"Know-it-all\",\"Latecomer\",\"Loudmouth (Monopolizers)\",\"Negative Nancy. 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