You've hit upon a common challenge in collaborative settings, and it's admirable that you're seeking ways to address it. Interrupting can derail even the most well-intentioned group, stifling creativity and damaging team morale. Thankfully, there are effective strategies to get your modeling sessions back on track.
First, let's distinguish between two scenarios:
The Lone Interrupter: If one person consistently interrupts, the best approach is often a crucial one-on-one conversation. Pull them aside during a break or after the session and address the issue directly but kindly. For example, "I've noticed you often start talking during discussions while others are still talking. It gives me the feeling that you are very engaged with what we are trying to achieve, and I worry that others do not get a chance to engage and share their knowledge like you do, which can affect the outcome. How do you see it?" Using the STATE method from crucial conversations, sharing your facts, telling your story, asking for others' paths, and talking tentatively to encourage testing lowers the chance of someone feeling attacked. The key is to be honest and confident in sharing the facts and stay humble by sharing your own feelings and asking for others to have a higher success rate in resolving the conflict.
The Interruption Epidemic: A more systemic approach is needed if multiple people are guilty of interrupting. When groups show behavioural patterns, techniques like Deep Democracy's Climate Report can be powerful. A climate report starts by sharing what you observe and keeping it to the facts. In this case, you can say, "I see that people in the group start talking while others are also still talking." Now comes the crucial part: you stay silent and let the group react to what you just shared. You want the group to recognise the behavioural pattern because otherwise, the group will never resolve it themselves. If they do not recognise it, then you leave it be. When they do recognise it, two things can happen. Either they solve it themselves or come up with ideas themselves. Or they require help, at this point, you can bring solutions like introducing a talking queue-like tool or even conversing on four feet.
If the patterns of interruption stay systemic, but people recognise the pattern and want to do something about it, you can start with active listening katas. Read Chapter 5 of our book to learn more about active listening!
XoXo CoMo
