It is unfortunately all too common to run into difficult people when running workshops. I've seen everything from people talking too much, to rarely opening their mouths. People that don't listen and think they can multitask. And then there are those who try to dominate the group because of their position in the team.
These sort of behaviours will derail your workshop if you don't figure out how to manage them effectively.
The main thing I've learned is to be empathetic and understand that people are mainly driven by fear. Their fears will force them to raise objections throughout the workshop. So your task is to uncover what drives that fear and prepare ahead of time to handle the objections, turning destructive behaviours into constructive attitudes. Unless you do that, they will ruin the experience for the other participants. Plus, you risk not meeting your objective.
Here are a few of the personalities I've worked with and some advice on how to manage them.
- Skeptics will constantly challenge the idea of the workshop, usually because they feel the status quo threatened. They're comfortable with what they know and don't see the point of change. They'll try to undermine the process by abstaining from participating fully. You need to reinforce why you're doing what you're doing and constantly bring them into the fold by asking them direct questions to force their participation.
- Experts will feel like they know what to do already so they don't see the point of the workshop. They'll try to drive the discussions towards the conclusion they already came to on their own. You need to find a way to give them a prominent voice that allows them to showcase their expertise in a constructive way.
- Bosses will think attending the workshop is a waste of their time and will try to work on other things during the exercises. If their expertise is needed, you need to talk to them before the workshop and explain why you need them to participate and what you expect from them. Of course, cutting out distractions like phones, tablets, computers during the workshop helps.
- Introverts will stay quiet because they are worried they'll say the wrong thing. Explain the structure of the workshop in advance and have some ice breakers ready to lighten the mood and invite participation. Working in small groups helps.
If you know someone will be a problem ahead of time, you have a few options:
- Meet with them ahead of the workshop and have them express their objections early. This gives you a change to address them then rather than during the workshop.
- During the workshop, give them a role that matches their need. If they feel they have to be in control, have an exercise they can lead themselves. If they're an expert, give them the chance to show it.
- When explaining the exercises, use clear language and follow the template "what, why, how." Explain what you're doing, why you're doing it and how you'll do it. Do this for every exercise.
- If someone will be a problem, you can consider not inviting them to the workshop. That's not always possible, or even desired.