May 15, 2008Ask Meryl ~ Stop rambling
Meryl,
Recently I spoke at a small group and the adjudicator said I should not have told the person who could not come to the point and not to ramble.
The adjudicator failed to say what is the correct way to say or stop someone who is taking all the time to explain a point but meanders and fail to say what is needed.
Please can you say what is the correct or kind word to help an individual who fails to get to the point so others can share, especially when there is only a few minutes.
Meryl Responds:
Tell them what you want them to do rather than what you want them to stop doing. Here are some phrases:
- I’m having trouble following all the details. Can you summarize your point for me?
- I want to be sure we have time to get to everything, and I’m concerned that we’re being sidetracked here. Let’s stick to the topic of…
- We only have a few minutes here. What are the critical points we need to cover?
- If we had more time I’d like to go into detail, but since there’s a lot to cover, let’s stay focused on…
- We have limited time here. What outcome are you looking for?
Sound good?
Meryl
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