“No crosstalk, please!”
If you’ve attended enough AA meetings, you’ve probably heard that announcement. Sometimes it’s delivered gently. Sometimes with the gravity of a federal court injunction.
But is there actually an AA rule against crosstalk?
No. There is no Fellowship-wide prohibition on crosstalk.
In some AA meetings, crosstalk means directly responding to another person’s share, offering advice, asking questions, or interrupting. Other meetings define it differently.
Many groups discourage crosstalk because they want members to feel comfortable sharing without being questioned, corrected, or offered unsolicited advice.
That’s a perfectly reasonable approach.
But it’s a group practice, not a requirement established by AA’s Twelve Steps or Twelve Traditions.
What does AA literature say?
Tradition Four gives individual AA groups considerable freedom to conduct their meetings as they see fit, provided their actions don’t affect other groups or AA as a whole.
That freedom helps explain why meeting formats vary so widely.
Some groups are quite formal. Members share one at a time, without responses or interruptions.
Others are more conversational. Members may ask questions, respond to something another person said, or engage in a discussion.
Neither format is inherently more “AA” than the other.
Why does it matter?
Because newcomers sometimes mistake a particular group’s rules for the rules of Alcoholics Anonymous.
A member who has attended a strict no-crosstalk meeting for twenty years might be surprised to visit a meeting where conversation is encouraged.
And someone accustomed to a conversational meeting may find a more structured format unfamiliar.
The important question isn’t whether crosstalk is universally right or wrong.
It’s whether the group’s format helps create an atmosphere where alcoholics can share their experience, strength, and hope.
If you’re visiting a new meeting, listen to the opening announcements. They’ll usually explain the group’s customs.
And if someone gently reminds you about crosstalk, don’t worry.
You’ve probably just learned something about that particular meeting.
From AA’s Literature
For further reading, AA publishes:
The Twelve Traditions Illustrated— especially Tradition Four
Available through AA.org.
If you’re new, try a few different meetings. Your room is out there.