Those moments are tough to navigate, because sometimes half the room perceives the mood as "people have strong opinions about this and want to be heard" which i

Those moments are tough to navigate, because sometimes half the room perceives the mood as "people have strong opinions about this and want to be heard" which is really great but there are also one or two people in the room who are absolutely terrified that a fight is going to break out. In those circumstances I try to find an excuse to break in at the prevailing volume and then, a little more softly, invite an opinion from one of the quieter people at the table. I think that helps the quieter people understand that the noise isn't a crisis and isn't meant to exclude them, and helps the louder people understand that they might not be getting the benefit of everyone's input when voices get raised.