Vent: Our club spent an hour arguing about the ending of 'The Road' last month

Cora Taylor · 2026-03-18T13:10:07.454821+00:00

I got tired of everyone talking over each other, so I tried having us each write down one sentence about what we thought the final scene meant before we spoke. It cut the yelling in half and people actually listened. Has your group ever tried a trick like that to keep a debate from going off the rails?

foster.mary6mo ago

My book club tried a talking stick once. I was so focused on not dropping the stupid painted branch that I forgot my whole point about the book. We all just sat there holding a stick.

10

foster.mary7mo ago

Honestly that sounds like it just slows everything down. People get bored waiting for their turn and the energy dies. I'd rather have a messy, passionate argument than a polite, dead meeting.

7

shane2447mo ago

Ever tried a talking stick? It sounds silly but it forces one person to talk at a time.

0