Work advice: Crushing the peanut gallery
Q: I am a supervisor at a government agency. We often conduct trainings for groups of 20 to 35 employees, featuring outside speakers.
My problem is that there are always several employees who continually crack (generally unfunny) jokes, ask snarky questions, ask questions just to hear their own voices, ask questions that are only relevant to them and do not advance or contribute to the group experience, or keep asking questions past the allotted time despite attempts to conclude the training. This nonsense makes it difficult to get through our agenda in a timely fashion. It's also not fair to the other employees who behave professionally. How do I tactfully tell these wannabe class clowns to cool it while still supporting efforts to ask legitimate and meritorious questions so they can learn and improve their work performance?
A: Speaking as a (mostly) reformed back-pew spitballer, I suspect many workplace hecklers act out because they resent being forced to attend training they consider unnecessary, or because they're intimidated by the subject matter, whether it's new technology or sensitivity training. Or they're just jerks with tenure, which is a condition no one to my knowledge has figured out how to resolve.
First, try to limit training to topics you know will interest and benefit employees, and make attendance optional if possible. Most speakers would rather address a handful of eager volunteers than a roomful of sullen captives, and the former would just as soon not have to share space with the latter.
When the training is mandatory, be transparent. Lay out clear learning objectives and show trainees what's in it for them. Don't insult everyone's intelligence and waste your breath buffing it to a high shine, though; if it's just one of those administrative checklists everyone - public and private sector - has to slog through, "staying employed" is a perfectly legitimate objective, and the speaker still deserves respect.
Find out each trainer's preferred audience interaction style in advance. Some speakers can manage off-the-cuff questions without losing momentum; others prefer to have set Q&A sessions for follow-up. At the start of each event, tell participants the format and schedule, and advise them that they'll get the most out of the session by keeping questions and comments brief and relevant.
Finally, be an active moderator. When off-topic or complex questions threaten to derail the session, corral them on a flip chart or whiteboard to revisit later. Provide index cards for participants to write their questions on, and let the speaker select the ones to address. This method tends to discourage idle snark while providing cover for anyone fearful of asking a "dumb" question - which, in my experience, often turns out to be something everyone wants to know the answer to. Including the spitballers.
• Karla L. Miller offers advice on surviving the ups and downs of the modern workplace. Ask Miller about your work dramas and traumas by emailing wpmagazine@washpost.com.