Why is this a problem?
When meetings are held only in English, people who speak English fluently have an advantage. Others may find it harder to join discussions, which limits participation.
Common problems include:
- Non-English speakers miss out on important points.
- People feel less confident speaking or asking questions.
- People stay quiet even when they have valuable ideas.
Ways to address the barrier
Empower chairs and facilitators to manage conflict
Quick Actions
- Encourage all members to learn active listening, empathy, and respectful disagreement before starting every meeting.
- Train chairs on how to handle conflicts, help the group agree, and run meetings in an accessible way.
- Give chairs tools and resources to run discussions, especially when power differences exist.
- Teach chairs when and how to step in if someone is dominating or others are being left out.
- Take short breaks if discussions get heated.
- Show chairs how to allow disagreement while still finding agreement where possible.
- Pay attention to whether people feel included, excluded, or uncomfortable. This will avoid conflicts from happening.
- Let people share concerns or complaints in writing or chat if they don’t want to speak out loud. Make sure these concerns are acknowledged.
- Keep records of how conflicts were handled and lessons learned from past meetings.
- Allow anonymous reporting when needed.
- Offer follow-up one-on-one conversations for sensitive issues.
Long-term Actions
- Develop clear conflict policies for meetings
- Have written rules about professional conduct, respect, and how conflicts are handled.
- Make these rules visible to all members and revisit them regularly.
- Train facilitators and chairs on conflict resolution.
- Update conflict resolution training as new techniques or challenges arise.
- Create a permanent mediator position to help with disputes during meetings.
Barriers these actions address
- Lack of training and support for chairs and facilitators
- Communication styles default to Western norms
- Default meeting language is English
- Dominant “expert” culture
- No clear way to report problems or get help
- People don’t start at the same place