If you suspect you may be monopolizing the conversation in meetings, experiment with these tactics to help get your message across.First, you need to measure exactly how much you’re talking.While you don’t want to limit your speaking time forever, adhering to the time rule in the beginning will help you build the habit of yielding the floor.

Only One Person Talking: You

While it’s important to share your point of view in meetings, it’s critical to know when and how. You don’t want to monopolize the conversation. We provide some practical tips for sharing the floor so that you can get your message across more effectively. <ul><li>First, take time to reflect after meetings. If you feel like you have been sharing too much, look back and consider who else contributed. </li><li>Ask yourself honestly: “Did I talk over people?”</li><li> Estimate how much of the meeting you were speaking.</li><li> Also consider using other communication channels to share your ideas. </li></ul>

Rambling During Meetings: Key Points

It may be hard to know in the moment if you’re oversharing. A fresh perspective can offer insight. Ask a trusted colleague or advisor to provide insights into how you’re meeting your goal of talking less and listening more.While it’s important to share your point of view, it’s critical to know when and how. Experiment with some or all of these tactics to make sure your input is being heard.

Ask for Help

When speaking, make sure that what you’re saying is necessary and impactful. You can even think of your sentences in tweet form: How would I communicate this idea if I were tweeting and facing a character limit? How can I cut my message down to its essence?﻿Think of yourself as an editor eliminating words and ideas that don’t communicate the essence of what you want to share.

Use The Tweet Limit: Practice Compressing Your Thoughts

<a href="https://hbr.org/2020/12/youre-between-assignments-at-work-what-do-you-do">If you excel at creativity</a>, you may come alive in a brainstorming session and quickly generate a wealth of ideas. However, if you tend to ramble when describing those ideas, you could come across as scattered and ill prepared. Consider other ways to organize your ideas and communicate them to audiences.Use whatever forms of communication are at your disposal to help organize your thoughts. You’ll then communicate well-thought-out concepts when you do share.

Consider Using Other Ways to Share Your Ideas

Are you giving your colleagues enough time to digest what you say and to ask questions? If not, give yourself a signal to pause.By slowing down and taking deliberate pauses, you’ll be able to regulate your impulse to overshare, and your message will have a better chance of landing.

Pause!

A how-to guide those that lead or participate in meetings

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How to Run an Effective Meeting

While it’s important to share your point of view in meetings, it’s critical to know when and how. You don’t want to monopolize the conversation. In this piece, the author offers practical tips for sharing the floor so that you can get your message across more effectively. First, take time to reflect after meetings. If you feel like you have been sharing too much, look back and consider who else contributed. Ask yourself honestly: “Did I talk over people?” Estimate how much of the meeting you were speaking. Also consider using other communication channels to share your ideas. For example, can you keep a running list of your brilliant insights on your computer so you’re better prepared to share them in the next meeting? Or, can you share ideas in a non-meeting setting — for example, in a follow-up email or an internal chat platform? It’s also helpful to give yourself a signal to pause and to practice compressing your thoughts. A trusted colleague or advisor can also provide insights into how you’re meeting your goal of talking less and listening more.