When participating in a conference call or meeting, there may be occasional interruptions or employees may get frustrated when trying to get their point across and begin talking down to others.

Here are three quick tips to ensure all participants are respected during meetings.

Set rules

Set rules at the top of the meeting. Tell attendees that there will be “no disrespecting others’ ideas” and enforce the rule throughout the meeting.

Pause briefly

If an interruption or frustrated employee disrupts the meeting, simply pause and look in their direction. This is usually enough to get them to recognize their mistake.

Discourage interruptions

When dealing with an interrupter, slow the person down by saying, “that’s an interesting point. Now let’s see what the group thinks.” If you continuously interrupt him/her and open the discussion up to the group, the interrupter will recognize a pattern, and hopefully get the hint that they’re out of line.

Get more meeting skills tips from Exec-Comm here.