Colleagues that won’t shut up in work meetings

Yes utter pains, using the managers presence to self promote. The meeting organiser should shut it down. I loved an external contractor we had who would bang on the desk and say hard finish at meeting end time and suggest those still waffling on organise a follow up meeting if they needed to explore their subject further. They never did.

Talk to the chair
Timed agendas (as in the actual times - 9.30 Start and apologies, 9.35 Item 1, 9.45 Item 2.)
Items for the agendas to be notified to whoever sorts them out by a strict deadline. The person who proposed the item has to produce a brief document outlinining the issue, any useful info and their proposed solution. To go out with the agenda.
Top of agenda - 'It is assumed that all papers have been read before the meeting'
Then the Chair is strong - does not allow people to re-hash what is already in supporting documents. Watches the timed agenda and sticks to it.

My experience is in school governance, where governors' meetings are like herding cats. With a strong chair this worked a treat. 😂

Id like to suggest another type of meeting person who can get in the bin.

The ‘I’m really busy but I’ll attend this meeting anyway but in case I didn’t mention how busy I am, I’ll type away , emailing and messaging throughout the meeting’

We had a large team around 30, with 4 sub teams.
One of the team leaders was renowned for this behaviour but what was particularly tiresome was how he did it.
So the big team meeting would be say 10 agenda items A-J, and he’d say nothing as the meeting progressed but at the ‘any other business’ bit at the end as people were starting to think about getting back to work or the actions they’ve picked up, he’d start talking…. giving his thoughts on the A-J subjects!
Usually disagreeing with the group conclusion to those items which would naturally begin another discussion of the items.
There was usually a grand ( but ill thought out ) proposal on how we could change a process to improve things thrown in too.

Nah. ADHD can lead to sporadic info dumping for sure but consistent monopolising of conversations/meetings with no social awareness is a personality issue, not a neurodivergent one.

For an online meeting it may be annoying 😑 but all you have to do is sit there behind a screen.

All of my meetings are physical, yes those annoying people go on, which infiltrate into our commute. We feel awkward leaving because we need to go home to pick up DC at last minute nursery time.

There are always colleagues who want to elongate a meeting for their own personal input. Up to the leader to call time, we're going over, take this up next time.

On the other hand there are things one feels strongly about and time hasn't been set in the agenda. So again, take it up with those to deal with it.

I can recall going on a course where I worked (a university) where we were split into teams and given a topic to discuss. I was elected chair and kept one gobby (male) person in order by saying things like "Thank you Andy, but Anne is speaking and Id like to hear what she has to say." I had to do this kind of thing several times during the course of the meeting.

During the feedback session the facilitator remarked that he noticed how I "immediately took charge of the group" and ruled it in a manner he found "slightly intimidating". I informed him that I had worked for many years in a management position with extensive experience of committee work. It was often necessary to be firm in order that the quieter members of the group could express themselves without interuption. I also added that I did nto think he would have expressed this opinon to a male. I invited him to apologise. Another women spoke up and backed me, remarking that she admired the way in which I had kept some of the more pushy members in order to achieve the task. The facilitator backed down and apologised.

Yeah, I can be very like this. Sorry. I have ADHD. I try really hard not to but often reflect and think... that was way too much of my voice.

I really appreciate people gently guiding me when I'm being insufferable. My manager is ace at this - she holds meetings well and is very good at keeping some of us succinct and making others speak up!

I'd much rather someone tactfully mentioned it or chaired firmly than felt I was really annoying.

I can be liek this nad I have adhd like symptoms from CPTSD from childhood

People using “yourself” all over the place for no god damn reason are far more irritating. Just STOP IT!

What is it called when women do exactly the same thing?

In my experience, gender has nothing to do with it. Both are as guilty as each other.☹️

And when the women do it?
oh they must be the ones with adhd.

This thread is so cathartic. There are 2 of these at my work - one woman who I initially thought had it in for me personally because she seemed to talk over and belittle me at every opportunity. Then I had a few whole-team meetings with her and realised, oh no, she does this to everyone and it comes from a place of deep insecurity. Literally everything that comes out of her mouth is either a humblebrag or a neg, she is usually cutting someone else off to say it, and she will not stfu unless shut down by a decent chair.

The other is my boss, who is a classic failing-upwards mediocre man. Says the same thing 5 different ways in a vain attempt to cover up the fact he's done precisely fuck all work and has nothing to add.

I'm leaving soon 😂

A bit like yourself eh...just shhhhh

I agree. The Chair set the toxic culture. It was chaos. The most unprofessional meetings I've ever been part of.

You do know that isn't all people who have this?

You do know that quite a few of us can read social cues? And can read the room? And know when to not butt in? It's not always an ADHD or ND person, sometimes it's an NT person who cannot read the room, who has no manners and thinks their opinion is the only right one.

Do not generalise us please.

Jesus christ I was waiting for the ND bingo. 😅

Oh do be quiet will you.

Every insulting post, well they must be ND.

NEWSFLASH- we know how to behave. I hate people who prolong meetings and don't know how to shut up. Some actually tend to not shut up on things that they enjoy and who the feck enjoys meetings eh?

Certainly not me, they are boring as hell and I think this could have been an email.

There's a man running a significant project in my work. He's in a different but related team, and my team have delivered some of the work.

He books in 1h meetings to introduce the project to other teams - then spend the first forty fucking minutes droning on. Then asks a couple of questions. Then talks for the majority of the rest of the meeting. Then overruns the meetings by 15-30m, because he doesn't know how to wrap up and say go - the meetings ALWAYS end because someone has to go.

And also doesn't show up to these meetings at random because he's overrunning another meeting.

It's baffling how he hasn't been managed out.

Sounds like a tutorial at uni where those of us who had done the reading and throught about it were the only ones with something to say. I used to make a point of being absent every third week wondering if everyone else would sit in silence. Sometimes the tutor deliberately asked someone different for their opinion and to "take us deeper in." It was quite amusing watching someone waffle when they had not done the work. Unlike meetings tutorials end after a set time.

Being on Teams or Zoom for a meeting does have its advantages, you can mute, or just ignore and read something else.

Age is not the issue, the big I am in our workplace is 65 and keeps saying he is going to retire. Thankfully he has been moved on to a project I have almost no involvement with.

Speak with whoever chairs a meeting and if that fails, ultimately you could consider it harassment in extreme cases, as it is definitely unwanted conduct.

Ugh you have hit my pet peeve OP!
I'm in a small team, usually half a dozen of us at a meeting. This one guy in his 60s talks and talks and talks! True hes had a long career but that just makes him think he is the expert at absolutely everything. No one can get a word in edgeways. Even when you start speaking he just speaks over you.

It was massively giving me the rage so I've had to just switch off completely. I also tell myself thank god I am not his wife, well we would be divorced already if I was! Hes not at all the meetings so I save anything I want to say for those. We had one without him the other day and it was bliss!