Career By Design

Have you ever been in a meeting (or been presenting something to a group of people) and watched in real time as the intended meeting/presentation subject got replaced by something else?

I am curious if there are any strategies anyone has seen employed to counter (or roll with) situations where a person attending a meeting begins changing the subject or causing enough discussion about a single point of interest to prevent the continuation of what else was supposed to be covered during that timeframe.

I'd love to know if this is a common issue that others have seen or dealt with.

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Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
Civil Engineer
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Your post brings back a lot of bad memories: of meetings having gone off the rails, meetings turning into 'talk shops' and meetings getting hijacked. As a pre-emptive step, always make sure you have a clear set of of objectives and end in mind going into the meeting and it's been well-communicated. When the meeting turns south things that you might do - not mutually exclusive include:

1. Invoke the concept of the Parking Lot. Gently intervene and note the topic appears off-topic or tangential to the task at hand and suggest that it be put in the Parking Lot; to come back to later. Writing the issue down on a flip is helpful as it shows sincerity. You will want to review the issues in the Parking Lot at the end of the meeting.
2. Gently intervene and remind the group of the meeting objectives and meeting end in mind. Get clarity on how the issue fits. If the issue is an outlier ask the group if they want to spend time discussing the issue or if it should go in the Parking Lot.

The situation is infinitely more difficult when the person causing the disruption is in a position of power, e.g., client or senior leader. Ideally, the latter should know better. Here, you might try to refocus. You could gently intervene and ask that before you go where they want to take you that you get their input on what's presumably the salient purpose of the meeting and why they were invited.

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Mitch Winkler P.E., M.ASCE
Houston, TX
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Thanks Mitch! In my personal experience, we have a few senior members on our team who seem to specialize in tangents and this has been my biggest struggle on the rare occasions that I'm the one responsible for presenting or directing a meeting. Nonetheless I am committed to trying out your suggestions, as the only other alternative would be for me to yell at someone. haha!

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Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
Civil Engineer
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2021 09:11 PM
From: Mitchell Winkler
Subject: Interruptions/tangent ideas during presentations and meetings

Your post brings back a lot of bad memories: of meetings having gone off the rails, meetings turning into 'talk shops' and meetings getting hijacked. As a pre-emptive step, always make sure you have a clear set of of objectives and end in mind going into the meeting and it's been well-communicated. When the meeting turns south things that you might do - not mutually exclusive include:

1. Invoke the concept of the Parking Lot. Gently intervene and note the topic appears off-topic or tangential to the task at hand and suggest that it be put in the Parking Lot; to come back to later. Writing the issue down on a flip is helpful as it shows sincerity. You will want to review the issues in the Parking Lot at the end of the meeting.
2. Gently intervene and remind the group of the meeting objectives and meeting end in mind. Get clarity on how the issue fits. If the issue is an outlier ask the group if they want to spend time discussing the issue or if it should go in the Parking Lot.

The situation is infinitely more difficult when the person causing the disruption is in a position of power, e.g., client or senior leader. Ideally, the latter should know better. Here, you might try to refocus. You could gently intervene and ask that before you go where they want to take you that you get their input on what's presumably the salient purpose of the meeting and why they were invited.

------------------------------
Mitch Winkler P.E., M.ASCE
Houston, TX
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Outstanding summary from Mitch. I think this captures my thoughts better than I'd be able to myself. It often comes down to how proactively you approach your meeting. A clear agenda and purpose can really pay off on these instances and let's the pre-defined direction be the bad guy for setting the discussion aside.

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Cliff Jones Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Austin TX
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2021 09:11 PM
From: Mitchell Winkler
Subject: Interruptions/tangent ideas during presentations and meetings

Your post brings back a lot of bad memories: of meetings having gone off the rails, meetings turning into 'talk shops' and meetings getting hijacked. As a pre-emptive step, always make sure you have a clear set of of objectives and end in mind going into the meeting and it's been well-communicated. When the meeting turns south things that you might do - not mutually exclusive include:

1. Invoke the concept of the Parking Lot. Gently intervene and note the topic appears off-topic or tangential to the task at hand and suggest that it be put in the Parking Lot; to come back to later. Writing the issue down on a flip is helpful as it shows sincerity. You will want to review the issues in the Parking Lot at the end of the meeting.
2. Gently intervene and remind the group of the meeting objectives and meeting end in mind. Get clarity on how the issue fits. If the issue is an outlier ask the group if they want to spend time discussing the issue or if it should go in the Parking Lot.

The situation is infinitely more difficult when the person causing the disruption is in a position of power, e.g., client or senior leader. Ideally, the latter should know better. Here, you might try to refocus. You could gently intervene and ask that before you go where they want to take you that you get their input on what's presumably the salient purpose of the meeting and why they were invited.

------------------------------
Mitch Winkler P.E., M.ASCE
Houston, TX
------------------------------

I like the way you said it "letting a goal, rather than a person, be the "bad guy"." I've had success with that when I was teaching labs to undergrads during my masters, but have had less success where I work now. Certain people are very comfortable ignoring the "bad guy" and moving on with their tangents, haha.

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Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
Civil Engineer
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-09-2021 08:49 AM
From: Cliff Jones
Subject: Interruptions/tangent ideas during presentations and meetings

Outstanding summary from Mitch. I think this captures my thoughts better than I'd be able to myself. It often comes down to how proactively you approach your meeting. A clear agenda and purpose can really pay off on these instances and let's the pre-defined direction be the bad guy for setting the discussion aside.

------------------------------
Cliff Jones Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Austin TX
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2021 09:11 PM
From: Mitchell Winkler
Subject: Interruptions/tangent ideas during presentations and meetings

Your post brings back a lot of bad memories: of meetings having gone off the rails, meetings turning into 'talk shops' and meetings getting hijacked. As a pre-emptive step, always make sure you have a clear set of of objectives and end in mind going into the meeting and it's been well-communicated. When the meeting turns south things that you might do - not mutually exclusive include:

1. Invoke the concept of the Parking Lot. Gently intervene and note the topic appears off-topic or tangential to the task at hand and suggest that it be put in the Parking Lot; to come back to later. Writing the issue down on a flip is helpful as it shows sincerity. You will want to review the issues in the Parking Lot at the end of the meeting.
2. Gently intervene and remind the group of the meeting objectives and meeting end in mind. Get clarity on how the issue fits. If the issue is an outlier ask the group if they want to spend time discussing the issue or if it should go in the Parking Lot.

The situation is infinitely more difficult when the person causing the disruption is in a position of power, e.g., client or senior leader. Ideally, the latter should know better. Here, you might try to refocus. You could gently intervene and ask that before you go where they want to take you that you get their input on what's presumably the salient purpose of the meeting and why they were invited.

------------------------------
Mitch Winkler P.E., M.ASCE
Houston, TX

This is interesting and it's key of good communication between you, and the clients. So here is what I found out in the internet.

"How to Refocus a Meeting After Someone Interrupts"
https://hbr.org/2015/04/how-to-refocus-a-meeting-after-someone-interrupts

Principles to Remember

Do:

»Prepare an agenda ahead of time and ask colleagues for their input
»Listen to what the interrupter is saying and validate his points
»Redirect the conversation by restating the purpose of the meeting

For example you can say before the meeting starts that you can pause for them if you had to repeat what you've been said earlier and make it clearer, let them know that it's okay for you to be interrupted or not otherwise you can say you can only answer the other questions after the presentation.

Don't:

»Get upset and emotional about the interruption - stay calm and collected
»Be in a hurry to brush off an interruption - sometimes it's worth probing further to gather more information
»Scold your employee after the meeting - instead pose questions and listen

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Llala Chrishaye Ocampo S.M.ASCE
Student
City of General Trias Cavite
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I really appreciate these suggestions Llala! Thank you for finding them and sharing them!

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Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
Civil Engineer
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-06-2021 02:29 AM
From: Llala Chrishaye Ocampo
Subject: Interruptions/tangent ideas during presentations and meetings

This is interesting and it's key of good communication between you, and the clients. So here is what I found out in the internet.

"How to Refocus a Meeting After Someone Interrupts"
https://hbr.org/2015/04/how-to-refocus-a-meeting-after-someone-interrupts

Principles to Remember

Do:

»Prepare an agenda ahead of time and ask colleagues for their input
»Listen to what the interrupter is saying and validate his points
»Redirect the conversation by restating the purpose of the meeting

For example you can say before the meeting starts that you can pause for them if you had to repeat what you've been said earlier and make it clearer, let them know that it's okay for you to be interrupted or not otherwise you can say you can only answer the other questions after the presentation.

Don't:

»Get upset and emotional about the interruption - stay calm and collected
»Be in a hurry to brush off an interruption - sometimes it's worth probing further to gather more information
»Scold your employee after the meeting - instead pose questions and listen

------------------------------
Llala Chrishaye Ocampo S.M.ASCE
Student
City of General Trias Cavite
------------------------------