13 Techniques to Handle Difficult Situations During Meetings with Ease

Tips and techniques with examples for super facilitators.

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Meetings.

They're the lifeblood of collaboration, the engine of decision-making, and... sometimes a breeding ground for awkward silences, heated debates, and off-topic tangents.

I remember one meeting where things got out of my hands.

We were trying to come up with ideas for new software, and everyone was excited at first. We had lots of suggestions, and the whiteboard was full of them.

Then, two of our senior developers started arguing.

One wanted to keep things simple, but the other wanted to add lots of features. Their disagreement got bigger and louder, and everyone else just sat there quietly, not knowing what to do.

The meeting was supposed to be about working together, but it felt like everyone was fighting. I had planned out the meeting carefully, but it wasn't going well. I knew I had to do something before the whole thing fell apart.

I was out of options!

The meeting didn’t go well.

We've all been there: the meeting that spirals out of control, leaving you feeling drained and unproductive.

But what if you could navigate such difficult situations? What if you had the tools to transform those difficult moments into opportunities for growth and progress?

As a Scrum Master, facilitator, or simply a participant who cares about productive meetings, you have the power to make a difference. This post provides a toolkit of techniques (which I learned much later) to handle these common meeting pitfalls, helping your team stay on track toward its goals.

Let’s get started.