How do you get white men at your org to shut the fuck up and make space for other people?
How do you get white men at your org to shut the fuck up and make space for other people?
I've had a few events so far where the discussion/feedback part had 1-2 white guys doing longgggg monologues about something unrelated to the main topic. Last time had some stoner guy ranting about the confusing service at airports here (the event was about Gaza). Before that it was some boomer guy trying to explain Madonna to the non-white teens in our group (the event was about trans rights). Sometimes it's just two white guys monologuing back and forth. It's super counter productive and cringe.
I'm just thinking of a hard rule. Like "if you're a white guy, you're welcome, but please try to listen more and keep unrelated monologues to a minimum."
For the record, I am a white dude.
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One of two methods, depending on the meeting, the constituency, etc.:
- Progressive stack - A queue of speakers is kept, but people who haven't spoken yet are prioritized, and non-cis/-het/-white/-male people may also be bumped in priority.
- Rounds - Go around the room and give everyone in turn a chance to speak (or pass). This can be great for people who are normally hesitant to speak up or put themselves on the queue, while offering the no-pressure chance to pass if they really don't want to speak.
Plus sometimes a person who volunteers to do temperature checks, remind people if they are taking inordinate amounts of time or are simply repeating stuff that's already been said, etc. Depending on the dynamics of the meeting (e.g. when most people form a well-knit group who trusts each other to do well) this might be handled collectively instead of with people in the particular role.