Greetings from Barcelona☀️
🙌Many thanks for reading The Quest.
If you are joining for the first time, welcome to our deep dive into facilitation, learning, and how to live a creative life.
Let’s jump right in!
Let’s face it. Most online group discussions are dead boring.
If you lead groups online you may be familiar with this scenario:
1/ You introduce a discussion topic.
2/ You launch a question to the group.
3/ You hear crickets and tumbleweed.
4/ You fill the awkward silence with your thoughts on the discussion topic.
✋Then someone raises their hand.
“Yay!” you think to yourself. “The suffering is over!” And then the same person raises their hand again. They are the only person apparently willing to speak, so you keep calling on them.
Before you know it they have taken over the discussion.
So you wait, trying to find an opportunity to interrupt and get the conversation back on track. Meanwhile, the rest of the group is checking their email. So many online group leaders and teachers face the same challenge. Why?
It’s because online group discussions need to be facilitated.
Unfortunately, a lot of people believe that great discussions will magically happen. And if they don’t, it’s Zoom’s fault. But here’s the harsh truth (sorry someone has to say it!)…
As the group leader, facilitating the discussion is your job.
Not Zoom’s. Not your group members. It’s your job to create the conditions for fruitful discussions to take root.
Luckily there are easy ways to facilitate better online discussions.
There are strategies that help you actively guide the conversation. That help people feel safe to contribute. Where you will see hands fly up and engagement skyrocket.
💭How do you facilitate a better online group discussion?
That’s our Quest for this week🔎
👉The Art of Facilitating Virtual Discussion Groups and Breakouts
👉8 Verbal Facilitation Tools for Group Facilitation
👉 10 Easy Ways You Can Facilitate Way Better Group Discussions Online
Plus
👉(A Moving) Facilitator Forum Podcast Episode on Facilitating Breakthroughs with Julia Winston
👉Free live event “Facilitating Community by Hosting Office Hours” on March 2
🎨The Art of Facilitating Virtual Discussion Groups and Breakouts
An article by David Spinks at CMX with tips for facilitating virtual discussion groups. He writes about a specific type of online conversation where people self-organize small group discussions. But there is a lot of advice that applies to leading meetings, virtual classrooms, and more.
Here are my takeaways:
👉 Set your ground rules upfront. He uses the “step up, step back” rule that helps to make room for all voices.
👉 Choose your format. Having a structure in place upfront helps people know what to expect and how to participate.
👉 Embrace awkward silences. Fight the urge to fill in the space yourself.
I also liked the list of specific formats that you can use to kick off your discussion including intros, whip-around, high-and-low, and more.
Check out the full article 👉here.
What are your strategies for facilitating virtual group discussions?
🗣️Verbal Tools for Group Facilitation
A cool infographic with verbal tools to help you facilitate group discussion from the folks at Session Lab👇
Also, check out their awesome library of facilitation techniques 👉here.
💡10 Easy Ways You Can Facilitate Way Better Group Discussions Online
A Twitter thread that I published today with practical tips for facilitating better online group discussions.
Join the conversation here👇Or check it out on LinkedIn.
 Gwyn Wansbrough 🚢 |
🎙️Facilitator Forum Podcast Episode with Julia Winston.
I was thrilled to be featured on Julia Winston‘s brilliant podcast, Facilitator Forum. Julia is an exceptional facilitator and a highly skilled interviewer.
We cover a lot in the 30-minute episode:
👉What it means to have “breakthroughs”.
👉How to create the conditions for them to happen online.
👉The challenges of pivoting from in-person to virtual –> with a surprisingly emotional personal breakthrough moment for Julia during the conversation.
Listen to the episode 👉here.
Check out all episodes 👉here.
🎟️You are invited to a free workshop on March 2
Join me and Community Business expert Tatiana Figueiredo for a free online workshop “Facilitating Community by Hosting Office Hours”.
👉This is for you if you run a cohort-based course, and/or host online office hours.
👉More information and registration here.
💌Thanks for reading The Quest
I always love hearing your feedback and suggestions. Just hit reply to share your thoughts and ideas. Visit my website for ways we can work together 👉 here.
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Creatively yours,
