Heuristic
Use a quiet drift signal before interrupting the meeting
Not every detour needs a siren.
When it fits
- A discussion often wanders, but constant facilitator interruptions would damage useful flow.
When to avoid it
- The passive-versus-active tradeoff comes from a small technology-probe study; adapt the signal to team norms and privacy expectations.
Why it matters
Keep the current meeting goal visible and use a low-friction signal when conversation appears to move away from it: a note, timer checkpoint, agenda marker or passive AI indicator. Let participants notice and self-correct before introducing an explicit interruption. Escalate only when drift persists or consumes material time.
An example
Keep the decision question visible in the meeting notes and mark when discussion has spent ten minutes on an unrelated implementation detail.
Check your result
The group can notice drift without the monitoring mechanism becoming the main interruption.
Keep this limit in mind
- The passive-versus-active tradeoff comes from a small technology-probe study; adapt the signal to team norms and privacy expectations.
Connected ideas
Use beforeInterrupt for reflection only when the drift is worth the interruption
Evidence and sources
In a CHI 2025 technology-probe study, passive AI goal feedback helped participants maintain focus with less interruption than active reflection prompts.
The study involved 15 knowledge workers and prototype interfaces; do not generalize the relative effect size broadly.
Are We On Track? AI-Assisted Active and Passive Goal Reflection During Meetings · Abstract findings