Managing Chatterbox

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Organizing work in sub-groups

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This is an opportunity to give the talkative the role of "facilitator" within a sub-group. You can also appoint a spokesperson, other than the talkative, to report back on the exercise

Ask questions by name

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Designating a participant to answer a question can help you to balance speaking time between the different learners and avoid the chatty learner systematically taking the floor.

Watch the chatterbox when you ask a question

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Looking at the talkative person when you ask a question can encourage him to systematically take the floor to answer.

Reframing the talkative with authority

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Reframing the chatterbox (in plenary) could be damaging in terms of the relationship with the participant and the group. In extreme cases, it is preferable to talk to the chatterbox individually (during a break) and offer to provide a framework when taking the floor

Start another activity

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This allows you to avoid going into the subject in depth with the talkative person (especially if he/she insists), while rewarding he/she for their contribution.

If he/she insists, thank him/her for his intervention and move on.

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Suggest to move on to the next sequence or a practical exercise... You can also ask the talkative to be a resource to help you with the logistics of certain sequences (distributing exercise materials, being the scribe for capturing key information....)