Making a Judgment Call

What happens if you take all the recommended steps for shutting down disruptive behavior but it still continues? At that point, you have a dilemma. The science of group dynamics has shown that when disruptive behavior is allowed to continue, the group sometimes will eventually shut down that behavior for themselves. Some of the things they will do in this regard include shunning the participant who is behaving disruptively, negative nonverbal behaviors (eye-rolling, for example), ignoring

Think About This

An interesting facet of group dynamics is that once disruptive behavior shuts down, the group refocuses on you rather than on the participant who was being disruptive. So, when you do something that acts on a personal agenda and preemptively shut down a participant in a disruptive way, the rest of the group will shut down as well out of fear that you might do the same thing to them. They, in effect, turn on you, and this will happen even if the group is happy that you have shut the person down. Shutting someone down in a negative way can be momentarily satisfying for both you and the learner group, but it’s not worth it in the long run—no matter how much the person seems to deserve it.

and not responding to the participant’s remarks, and carrying on side conversations when that participant is speaking. That is a more desirable scenario than you having to continue to deal with the behavior or having to shut it down yourself, but it doesn’t always happen this way.

So, do you wait and hope the group will become so frustrated with that behavior that they shut the person down? Do you continue to act on your professional agenda in dealing with the behavior and hope that the third time is the charm? Do you take the matter into your own hands and deal with the person in a more disciplinary manner?

It’s your call. There will be times when your judgment is called into play, when you believe you must act more leniently than you’d like, or more firmly than you’d like. As another colleague says, “Once you know the rules, you know when to break them.” That is your judgment call. Sooner or later, you will experience the Catch-22 of facilitation: If you err on the side of leniency, you will receive negative evaluations that say you are “too nice.” If you err on the side of firmness, you will receive negative evaluations that say you are “too strict.” Although your desire is to always have your facilitation be “just right,” sometimes it just comes down to a judgment call.

Table 7–1 presents and dissects many of the disruptive situations that you might experience. Features include

Table 7–1: Dealing with disruptive behavior.

Learner’s disruptive behavior	Facilitator’s personal agenda is triggered	Facilitator recognizes his/her personal agenda and potential behaviors and chooses not to act	Facilitator identifies learner’s probable personal agenda	Facilitator mentally reiterates professional agenda	Facilitator chooses to act on professional agenda rather than personal agenda. He or she chooses behaviors that meet the learner’s agenda and, by doing so, extinguishes disruptive behavior, and continues the learning.
Side conversation	They are being disrespectful and rude. I want to treat them the same way, so they see what it feels like.	“Do you two have something to share?” Ask the class a question, then direct it to one of the disrupters to catch him/her off guard.	Talking about something that is relevant to the class Not engaged in the class; talking to keep themselves involved and/or awake Talking about something that is relevant to work, but not the class	I must continue to make learning happen.	• Behave as if you “know” that the side conversation is class related and ask them to add their thoughts. In the event that the side conversation actually was class related, you have reinforced their involvement and participation. • If you are lecturing or leading a discussion, slowly move into the part of the room where the disrupters are; continue lecture/discussion and don’t look at them as you continue. (This only works if you have already established a habit of moving around the room.) • Change the pace of the activity; do something active (have participants make flipcharts, put them in small group discussions, etc.). • Re-form groups by counting off and make sure the disrupters are separated. • At the start of the next session, revisit the class norms/ground rules.
Talks too much; monopolizes discussion	I am frustrated; I wish this person would shut up—and stay that way.	Anything that shuts the person down in a mean or embarrassing way: joke, labeling him/her as a talker, rolling eyes, etc. Smiling or in some other way colluding with the group if they are rolling eyes, etc.	Wants attention Thinks out loud Wants to demonstrate knowledge/ expertise	I must continue to make learning happen.	• If he/she is on the subject, begin talking with him/her and summarize the point. Then turn to others and invite their participation: “What does everyone else think?” • Avoid eye contact with him/her for a while. • If he/she is off target, say “Great point, but it is beyond the scope of our class…Let’s talk about this together offline.” • Put his/her issue on a “parking lot” flipchart (meaning it is something that will be dealt with at the proper time). • Change the pace of the activity and have participants do solo work for a short time.
Complains; is negative about class or organization	What a whiner! This person needs to shut up before he/she brings the whole group down, and I have to somehow bring them back up.	Argue with him/her. Cut him/her off before he/she can finish his/her thought. Say, “Well, there’s nothing we can do about that.” Refuse to acknowledge the speaker and/or complaint.	Doesn’t want to be there Has other things on his/her mind that are more important to him/her Wants complaint to be acknowledged	I must continue to make learning happen.	• Ask if others feel the same way. If they don’t, then offer to assist and/or listen to him/her during break. • If others do feel the same way, you might have a productive tangent to deal with (see section about Adjusting on the Fly). Negative feelings and complaints (on the part of the majority of the group) must be acknowledged and handled, or they will simply fester, and learning won’t happen. • Acknowledge the complaint, then turn group discussion to strategizing how to overcome it. • Put the issue on the parking lot. • If valid, incorporate it into the action planning to have the learner address the issue.
Daydreams; not “in the class”	This person is being rude to me and is influencing others to drift off. I am embarrassed so I want to embarrass him/her.	Call on him/her unexpectedly. Joke: “Earth to John. Come in, John.” Unexpectedly introduce a game/test activity: “Let’s see who has been paying attention” (in effect, punishing the whole class).	Not engaged, would rather be somewhere else Content not relevant Just another initiative that will pass	I must continue to make learning happen.	• Change the current activity to make it more active/involving. For example, if they are in small group discussions, have them produce a flipchart showing their work. • If the daydreaming is organization related and more than one person is doing it (for example, everyone’s mind is on the current layoff situation), acknowledge it and allow a short discussion, then move on. • Talk to him/her privately during a break and ask how the class could be better meeting his/her needs. • Frequently link content to the job.
Heckles the facilitator	Smart aleck! I want to put him/her down like he/she is putting me down.	Continue to “volley” with the heckler as the rest of the group watches. Label the behavior in front of the group: “Oh, so we have a smart aleck in our midst!”	Wants attention Clown: Thinks the heckling is funny, not rude Doesn’t want to be there Wants to destroy facilitator’s credibility	I must continue to make learning happen.	• Give him/her attention in a learning-oriented way rather than encourage the heckling: “Mary, you clearly have some background in this area; would you share your thoughts with the rest of the group?” • Change the activity so that the participants are interacting with each other rather than you. • If the heckling continues, talk with the person privately: Ask if the class is meeting his/her needs. If not, or if he/she doesn’t want to be there, acknowledge and support that within the constraints of the program. If it continues, send him/her back to the job.
Challenges the facilitator on content or technique; “know-it-all”	I am the expert; I am the facilitator; I am right. This person is hurting my credibility and should not be allowed to challenge me.	“That may be true in your experience, but we are not talking about that in here” (i.e., your experience is not relevant). Ignoring the person’s comments	Wants to be recognized for own expertise Wants some of the spotlight Wants to destroy facilitator’s credibility	I must continue to make learning happen.	• Give the person the spotlight for a few minutes. His/her expertise will add to the learning. (Remember, your credibility comes from your ability as a facilitator as well as from your own expertise.) • Turn the exchange into a discussion by implying that there are multiple points of view and all should be addressed. Ask for other opinions from the rest of the group.
Tells jokes or clowns around at inappropriate times	This is funny! Or, this isn’t funny!	Support the behavior by laughing, etc., or continuing to “banter.” Shut the person down by embarrassing him/her.	Wants attention Is uncomfortable with the subject, so makes jokes to help himself/ herself handle it Is bored so wants to liven things up	I must continue to make learning happen.	• Give him/her attention by re-engaging him/her with the content without acknowledging the joking behavior. • If discomfort with the subject is apparent in more group members, then the jokes are intended to relieve tension. Help the group by bringing up the discomfort directly; or put them in small groups so they can discuss more comfortably. • When a joke is funny and at the right time, laugh!
Makes an inappropriate remark (sexist, racist, etc.)	What an idiot/ bigot/sexist, etc.! I am angry! I want to embarrass this person! Or, I don’t know what to do with this; it’s better to do nothing than to make a mistake.	React harshly and/or label the person: “We don’t make bigoted remarks in here!” Ignore the remark or pretend it didn’t happen (implies to participants that you think it’s OK).	Truly unaware of how the remark sounded Is aware of how the remark sounded and is purposely making the remark anyway	I must continue to make learning happen.	• You must deal with it in front of the group; it cannot be ignored. • First, give him/her a chance to retract: “I’m sure you didn’t mean that the way it sounded….” If he/she does retract, move on. (If he/she was unaware of the meaning of the remark, he/she will suffer enough embarrassment on his/her own; you don’t need to intensify it.) • If the person does not retract, say in front of the group, “Unfortunately, that view is not in keeping with the values of our organization, and we can’t have any more of that.” You may need to speak with the person during break as well—and even report the behavior to his/her manager if necessary. • Revisit norms/ground rules for respect of others.
Does other work or reads the newspaper or takes cell phone calls	How dare he ignore me! I am embarrassed. I want to embarrass/ punish him/ her.	Direct an unexpected question/remark to the person to make it obvious that he/she isn’t paying attention.	Is not engaged Feels pressure to be doing other work	I must continue to make learning happen.	• Speak to him/her during a break and point out that his/her behavior leads you to believe the class is not meeting his/her needs. Ask how the class can better serve his/her needs and try to do that. • Acknowledge the pressure. Negotiate with the participant to appear engaged so that his/her behavior doesn’t affect the rest of the group. • Offer to have him/her attend another session.
Silent, doesn’t participate verbally	I want this person to participate (whether he/she wants to or not!). Am I not doing a good job? I MUST engage him/her.	Assume that he/she is shy and it’s your job to “bring him/her out.” Create participation opportunities that will force him/her to participate.	Is shy and not comfortable speaking up in front of others Could very well be participating by listening and thinking, etc. (just not speaking) Is primarily a “thinker,” which means he/she must observe and reflect on a situation before forming an opinion	I must continue to make learning happen.	• Create opportunities for him/her to participate safely—as in pairs or small groups. • Pace some activities so there is reflection time included (during break, lunch, or overnight) before participants discuss and share opinions. • If you can tell by his/her body language that he/she is engaged, listening, reacting, and thinking, consider simply leaving him/her alone.
Withdraws from group interpersonally and/or physically	I must make this person re-engage with the group no matter what.	Directing questions toward him/her to force re-engagement. Make other participants your agents and have them attempt to re-engage him/her.	Is not feeling well Is upset or angry at something that has happened Feels excluded or not listened to	I must continue to make learning happen.	• Ask the person at the next break what is going on and how you can help. Deal with the issue accordingly after that. • Have small groups rotate persons presenting. • Encourage groups to have all members of groups actively involved.
Goes off on tangent; misses the point	How obtuse can someone be?	Make a joke or in some other way belittling him/her for being wrong.	Has misunderstood a point Is on the wrong track Is purposefully being “wrong” to see what I will do	I must continue to make learning happen.	• If possible, find one thing to agree with in what he/she has said. • Affirm and compliment his/her effort to stay engaged with the content. • Say, “That would be a logical assumption; however, the truth is…” • If his/her effort is contrived to see what you will do, the most effective behavior is to address the content of the question rather than take the bait.
Reprinted with permission from Deb Tobey LLC, 2003.

• identification of participant behaviors that facilitators tend to think are disruptive to learning

• typical facilitator personal agendas that can occur in each disruptive situation and the responsive behaviors that should not be used (even though it is tempting to do so)

• typical participant agendas that drive disruptive behaviors

• a reminder that your professional agenda is always to enhance and make learning happen

• a range of facilitator responses that can fulfill your professional agenda and are most likely to allow learning to continue, as well as a reminder that often the most effective facilitator behavior involves fulfilling the participant’s personal agenda—momentarily and temporarily.

Noted

Why include information about facilitators’ personal agendas and inappropriate facilitator responses? Many times facilitators can be unaware of the personal reaction and agenda that may occur when disruptive behavior appears and are, therefore, unaware of the behaviors that personal agendas drive. Remember, you are functioning very quickly in a complex internal thought process. So, it’s just as important to recognize and reject unacceptable behaviors as it is to own effective behaviors. You just might see yourself in some of the personal agendas and disruptive behaviors!

In general, facilitator tactics for handling disruptive behavior should include

• not getting caught in one-on-one power struggles

• using good-natured humor

• connecting with the participant on a personal level

• broadening the participation of the rest of the group

• protecting participants as needed

• using a separate issues chart or a “parking lot” to postpone issues until they are appropriate for discussion

• recognizing the learner’s point and then taking the discussion offline during breaks, lunches, at the end of the day

• changing the small group composition

• modifying activities or instructional strategies.

Think About This

Sometimes facilitators can get so focused on extinguishing disruptive behavior that they forget to reinforce that participant’s good behavior. Don’t forget to react positively when the disruptive participant’s behavior lessens (smile or make eye contact, for example). Or, if a talkative participant has remained quiet for a while, ask him or her a question or solicit his or her opinion. It goes back to an old saying: “You can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar!”