• A team member who always points out difficulties

• An individual dominating the meeting

• A non-contributing member

• An “expert”

• The Cynic (“I’ve heard it all before”)

• Conflict between two team members

• The Boss as a participant!

• The facilitator as the “butt”

A team member who always points out difficulties:

- Ask them to suggest a solution to the difficulty they have identified
- View them as a resource against whom to bounce ideas and suggestions
- Be prepared for the negative – and use it to improve an idea
- Regard the statement of difficulty as an invitation to build, not as an obstacle

An individual dominating the meeting:

- Take control constructively
- Call on other delegates by name
- Thank, restate pertinent points and move on
- Avoid eye contact

A non-contributing member:

- Don’t put pressure on the participant
- Acknowledge their contributions – every time they speak
- Give a non-verbal invitation to speak
- Ask them if they agree with what’s being said
- Capitalise on their knowledge and personality
- Precede a question with their name
- Talk to the reluctant participant

An “expert”

- Don’t react defensively – respect what they can offer
- Use the person’s expertise – but set limits
- Encourage the expert to listen
- Invite the expert to present formally
- Give the expert an official role in answering people’s questions

The Cynic (“I’ve heard it all before”):

- Don’t get defensive or angry
- Find some merit in what they are saying
- Bring them in when you want them to speak
- Encourage them to concentrate on the positive
- Talk to them privately – find out if they are upset or annoyed
- Use the rest of the group to give different viewpoints

Conflict between two team members:

- Don’t intervene too early
- Emphasise points of agreement, minimise points of disagreement
- Direct delegates’ attention to the objectives of the meeting
- Shelve or park the issue for the moment
- Draw others into the discussion to reduce the one-to-one element
- Depersonalise

The Boss as a participant!:

- Emphasise the importance of being (positively) frank
- Formalise the situation – difficult dual role, being both player and boss
- Ask the boss if he/she would mind reserving his/her views
- Treat the boss as a person