Working with "experts." Having a participant who appears to have some expertise in a particular issue may inhibit participation by other group members. Sometimes this happens because the person announces his or her qualifications to speak on the subject. In other cases, it occurs simply because members of the group perceive one member to be more familiar with the topic or better educated than the rest. There are several methods of avoiding this problem (or handling the problem if it occurs).

Try to put together groups that are composed of people of similar
education backgrounds and professional status.

Do not introduce people in ways that identify their education or
professional status (such as calling someone "Dr."). Use first names
only.

If you ask people to introduce themselves, avoid framing the request in
ways that would encourage them to talk about their education.

Remind people that they were invited because you are seeking the
perspective of people like themselves, so they are all "experts."

If you can pick out the dominators before the group begins (while people
are standing around chatting or during registration), try to sit them next
to a leader so they can more easily be interrupted.

Try to move the conversation to someone else by saying "Thank you, Fred. Does anyone else have something to say on this issue?" or "Thank you.
That's an interesting point of view. Perhaps someone has another point of
view."

Working with "ramblers." People may ramble because they are inarticulate or because they want to contribute to the conversation-even if they have nothing to say. They, like the dominators, can use up valuable time and
prevent others from speaking. Here are a couple of tips on how to interrupt
a rambler:

Move the conversation to someone else by politely thanking them and
issuing an open invitation for others to speak.

Take advantage of pauses in their conversation to open up the
conversation to another speaker (or move on to another question).
Ramblers often pause in their monologues, especially if they are waiting
to gain someone's attention.

Begin the session by reinforcing the view that everyone's opinion is
important and you are hoping that everyone will participate.

If you notice someone is shy before the session begins (such as during the
registration process), try to seat this person across from one of the leaders
so eye contact can be made.

Call on them by name to see if they have anything to say. Use gentle
prompts, such as "Melanie, do you find this reflects your experience?"
Nod your head while they are speaking to encourage them.