IF THE WORDS “TOWN HALL MEETING” DIDN’T STRIKE FEAR INTO YOUR HEART BEFORE…
Quote of the Month: The probability of someone watching you is proportional to the stupidity of your action. — Anonymous
…I’ll bet they have taken on a whole new meaning in the last month!
U.S. Representatives and Senators have been taking it on the chin all across the country as the debate about health care reform rages. I’m sure you’ve seen or read of examples of meetings that have been terribly difficult. In some, the elected officials have been able to stand their ground. In others, they’ve had to be
escorted out of the room by law enforcement officials.
I think it is very important for business executives and leaders of all types of organizations to prepare for the day when they have to face a potentially hostile audience. That is why, in our workshops, we role-play at least one or two large group meetings along with mock media interviews. There is always a chance that
one day you will have to face an audience made up of:
– employees unhappy over facility closings, lay-offs, benefit changes, etc.;
– families of hospital or nursing home patients upset about a report of numerous regulatory violations;
– neighbors of manufacturing facilities who have heard of plans to expand or add a hazardous materials operation;
– municipal officials upset about recent accidents at your facility that endangered or frightened their citizens;
– and on and on. (I’m sure you can come up with some!)
Here are some thoughts about ways you can improve your chances of survival in such a tough meeting.
1. IF A GATHERING IS SCHEDULED, SHOW UP. This might be a “duh” statement, but it is easier said than done. When you have good intelligence that the opposition/activists/upset people will be there in large numbers,you may be tempted to opt out of what you see as a lose-lose situation. If you decide to be a no-show, what you will surely lose is respect. Assuming you have a story to tell or a position to defend, have the courage to do so even if it is uncomfortable. There will be people in the audience, or those who
watch on TV or the web or read about it in newspapers, who will want to hear what you have to say and will credit you for facing the music.
2. HAVE A NEUTRAL MODERATOR. Do your best to identify someone who can host the meeting. It could be a municipal official, a respected academician, the president of a local association with interest in the topic, a member of a group like the League of Women Voters, or someone else with standing in the community. Make sure that person knows he/she is responsible to set the tone of the meeting and lay down some ground rules. A code of conduct must be followed that prevents people from shouting out, being derisive, or monopolizing the conversation. The first time things seem to be getting out of hand, look to that person to step in to restate the rules and restore order.
3. MAINTAIN A PROFESSIONAL DEMEANOR. Once again, you are looking for people to respect you, your position, and your organization. This cannot be accomplished if you allow yourself to descend to the
level of a heckler or someone who is making disparaging remarks. This is tough - especially if you feel that person is making unfair or personal remarks. But losing your temper and yelling back at them does you no good at all. In fact, if the person raises his/her voice, your best bet is to lower yours. Remain patient.
Let them vent (at least until the Moderat or calls time on them). Then calmly respond, “I hear what you are saying and can understand your concern; let me tell you why I do not believe what you are asserting is true…” Your restraint in the face of such opposition will go a long way both in getting your point across and in building respect for you.
4. DON’T BE A DOORMAT. While you cannot successfully navigate a meeting like this with a short fuse that makes a bad situation worse, neither can you simply allow yourself to be buried under heaps of unfair criticism. You need to be able to assertively and strongly communicate your key messages - without being offensive and aggressive.
5. KNOW YOUR STUFF. You must know your material. Major talking points must be developed ahead of time by a group of your best minds. They need to be reviewed and rehearsed and committed to memory. The same goes for answers you develop to what you know will be the most likely questions. If you’ve heard outrageous rumors being spread on the Internet, be prepared to counter them with facts - either when they surface in a question or you bring it up yourself.
6. LET REASONABLE AUDIENCE MEMBERS POLICE THEIR PEERS. It often happens that a questioner will get carried away by the sound of his/her own voice, leading to downright nasty and unreasonable behavior. Chances are good that if you don’t let them light your fuse, but remain calm, someone else from the audience (or the Moderator) will tell them they have strayed over the line and request a return to civil discourse.
7. INDICATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO CONSIDER THEIR CONCERNS. Whenever possible in your remarks, let people know that you are there to LISTEN to them. If you approach the meeting with an obviously closed mind, it will simply anger them. Showing the audience that you sincerely believe reasonable people may have differences of opinion and that you are willing to take their suggestions under advisement will help defuse the situation. Say things such as, “I hear what you are saying,” or “I understand your concern,” or even, “Thank you, that is a good idea and I will take that back to my management team.”
8. OFFER ANOTHER OPTION FOR CONTINUING THE DISCUSSION. Ideally, the Moderator will have established at the beginning how long the meeting will run. As that deadline approaches, you should make it clear that you will remain available for individuals to communicate with you at another time. People want to be able to express their opinions and be heard. Provide your phone number, e-mail or snail-mail address. Be sure to respond to those additional communications.
Following these guidelines does not guarantee that such a meeting will be a pleasant experience. But by NOT following them, you can pretty well count on a bad ordeal that will not help persuade people to your point of view.
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SPECIAL NOTE: Congratulations to Jim Zawicki of Sartomer Company, Inc. who won the contest in my last e-zine. Jim was a participant in one of our workshops several years ago and obviously remembered what he learned well! For those of you who are interested, the correct answers to the multiple choice questions were:
(1) d (2) f (3) d (4) c (5) c (6) c (7) d (8) c (9) a (10) c
Until next month…KEEP COOL!
Judy Hoffman
(919) 550-8302
www.judyhoffman.com
jchent@earthlink.net
