Elmo Meets "The Talker."

Recently, I blogged about a know-it-all who attended one of my seminars; She continually interrupted and created quite a disturbance for everyone.

Well, when it rains it pours!  I had a new challenge this week:  THE TALKER.

While teaching a project management seminar somewhere in Tennessee, I encountered a gentleman who just wouldn't be quiet!

He was very friendly and kind with lots of stories to tell.  In fact, for every point I made, he had a story, joke, or bit of news to accompany it.  Sometimes his tales weren't related to the topic; but I suppose in his mind there was some correlation.  The first two stories were cute and a nice break from the lecture.  After all,  I don't want to be the only one talking.  I encourage interaction, and organized discussion.   By lunchtime, however, the entire group was rolling their eyes every time "Ralph" shared a idiom or quip.  

There were occasions when I had to interrupt Ralph and ask him to give others a chance to speak.  And, at the end of the first day -- this was a three-day event -- I asked him to agree to limit himself to three stories the following day.  

When these kinds of distractions occur, it's not just a disruption for me,  it can also be a problem for the other attendees.  I had to repeatedly remind Ralph of the importance of maintaining our schedule and staying on track.  I suggested over and over again that we continue on and not lose focus;  I also reminded him that while he is eager to speak, there are others in the room who have needs, too. 

Part of my role as facilitator is the maintain order and balance at every event.  My favorite technique for dealing with any person(s) who continually interrupts is the ELMO technique.  I bring a small Sesame Street Elmo doll with me to every event.  I establish at the beginning of the session that we will be using Elmo to maintain order and balance in the session.   I explain to the attendees that if we are ever stuck on a tangent, disagreement, or off-topic sidebar, I will toss Elmo to the involved party.  That will be his or her queue that it's time to end the discussion.  Why Elmo?  Because it stands for Enough.  Let's Move On!