When Frustration Strikes in a Meeting: The Key to Turning It Around

Meetings. Love them or loathe them, they are a part of our professional lives. Most of the time, they’re uneventful — half an hour, some discussions, maybe a decision or two, and then we’re done. But every now and then, something happens that jolts everyone awake. You know the moment. The one where you’re forced to sit up and think, Wait, what just happened?

That’s exactly what happened to me the other day.

It was a small, 30-minute meeting, the kind we’ve all been in a thousand times. The agenda was straightforward — discuss the pros and cons of a new approach. It started just like any other meeting. Ideas were tossed around, people chimed in with their thoughts, and we debated the usual ups and downs of the proposal.

But about 15 minutes in, something shifted.

Out of nowhere, one of the participants, who had been contributing throughout the meeting, suddenly raised his voice:
”The problem is that you didn’t listen to me!”

Whoa. It wasn’t quite a shout, but it was close. Everyone else, including me, froze for a second. The room became tense, like when someone drops something fragile in the middle of a dinner party and everyone hears it break.