How to Adapt Engagement Strategies to Build Trust and Safety

If you’ve ever facilitated a meeting where a few people dominate the discussion while others stay silent, you’ve likely felt the challenge: How do you create space for everyone to show up, contribute, and engage meaningfully—without forcing it?

The key is strategic adaptations. By intentionally structuring interactions, you can reduce pressure, invite participation, and build psychological safety for different types of team members. Here’s how to make it work.

1. Are People Showing Up and Contributing in Their Own Way?

What to Do: Use small group structures to reduce pressure.

One of the simplest ways to create immediate safety is to reduce the number of people in the room. Smaller groups, like trios, give quieter team members opportunities to verbalize thoughts, while more vocal members can practice facilitation in a low-risk setting.

Practical Strategy: Work Item Refinement in Small Groups

• Split the team into trios (or breakout rooms).
• Assign each group a subset of work items to review and annotate.
• Emphasize that the exercise is about conversation, not perfection.

Why This Works:

• Smaller groups reduce social pressure and create short-term psychological safety.
• People get think time to process ideas, which is especially helpful for those working in a non-primary language.
• It provides space for everyone to verbalize their thoughts and practice sharing before returning to the larger group.

Bonus Tip: Group quieter team members together and chattier team members together. This prevents louder voices from unintentionally silencing others.

2. Are They Engaging in Shared Goals, Even Quietly?

What to Do: Model engagement by intentionally holding back.

Leaders and facilitators often hold the floor by default—sometimes unintentionally. Instead, create space by deliberately signaling that you’re stepping back.

Practical Strategy: State Your Intentions to Hold Space
Say out loud:

“I’m deliberately not answering this so that other people have a chance to think and respond.”

This simple statement does three things:

1. Signals Engagement: You’re not checked out—you’re creating space.
2. Models Behavior: It shows frequent contributors how to step back while staying involved.
3. Invites Participation: It opens the floor without cold calling or putting quieter people on the spot.

Why This Works:
You’re setting an expectation that it’s okay to take time to think and respond—no rushing required.

Here’s how I’d integrate that into the post:

Bonus Tip: Get Comfortable with Silence

One of the hardest skills to master as a facilitator is providing think time. Silence feels uncomfortable—like a void you need to fill. But silence is where thoughtful contributions happen.

Practical Strategy: Practice Holding Space for Think Time

• When you ask a question, remain quiet and count silently to yourself. See how far you get before the urge to say something, anything kicks in.
• To build empathy, have a colleague ask you an unexpected question (no prep allowed). Notice how short think time feels when you’re on the receiving end.

Here’s the Truth: What feels like an eternity to you—30 seconds to a minute—is often what’s needed for team members to process and respond.

Why This Works:

• It allows time for deeper thinking, particularly for quieter team members or those working in a non-primary language.
• It models patience and reduces pressure to respond immediately.

3. Are You Making It Safe for Them to Be Honest?

What to Do: Allow small groups to present collaboratively.

Once the trios or breakout groups return, ask one or more members from each group to share their ideas or decisions. This lowers the stakes because no one individual feels singled out.

Practical Strategy: Shared Group Presentation

• Invite groups to decide together who will present—or to present collaboratively.
• Emphasize that it’s a summary of their work, not a performance.

Why This Works:

• It reinforces a sense of shared goals.
• Small groups build confidence to share thoughts collectively.
• It removes the fear of being “the one” who has to represent the group alone.

Trust builds when people feel safe showing up in their own way. By using small groups, reducing pressure, and modeling space-holding, you create opportunities for all team members to engage—quietly, confidently, and collaboratively.

Next time you’re in the facilitator role, remember: People need different pathways to contribute. The goal isn’t to force engagement—it’s to make space for it.

This post is part of my “Icebreakers Aren’t Evil, But…” series, exploring why traditional icebreakers often backfire and how leaders can adapt their facilitation to build real psychological safety. Up next: how can you ensure your team feels safe speaking up and that it's a heroic act to do so.