Dealing with Disruptors

Civil discourse is a powerful learning tool, which gives you practice engaging with other viewpoints in a constructive way. Our Leader Moderation Guide provides you with in-depth advice about how to de-escalate a discussion that has become so heated that it is no longer productive. But what happens when someone attends one of your meetings, not to participate, but to shut it down?

Unfortunately, there is no magic panacea for this situation. In some cases, you may be able to de-escalate the situation and allow your group to return to productive discussion after such a disruption. In others, you might need to stop the meeting altogether and reschedule with your group members.

We hope that this guide helps you to navigate this circumstance so that your Let’s Talk group can move on in a productive way.