9 Tips for Facilitating Discussion

Begin by introducing yourself and briefly mentioning how you came to be involved with this work or why you’re passionate about it.

Remind participants that they are encouraged to discuss these issues and answer questions through the lens of the character and scene rather than sharing their own personal experiences.

• Explaining the rationale behind engaging in this manner can help encourage uptake of this suggestion. We do not want participants to feel as if their experiences are not valuable to the conversation. Instead, we want to avoid participants feeling as if they need to disclose personal details or relive possibly traumatic events for the sake of making a point.

Ensure you lay out your questions clearly.

• Effective questions contain enough information so participants can easily identify what they are asked to reflect on. Generally, avoid questions that can be easily answered with a yes or no.

Provide time for participants to respond to questions before jumping in to reframe them or calling on someone directly.

• Consider waiting at least five seconds before Many of these questions prompt participants to reflect on difficult issues and they likely need time to articulate a reply.

Make sure that the discussion is inclusive of all participants.

Ensure that there are opportunities for everyone to speak; however, there are a variety of legitimate reasons for why a participant may not feel comfortable speaking. It is important to look for subtle cues that can help you determine if a participant is trying to speak, but is unable, if a participant is actively engaged, but not speaking, or if a participant has checked out of the discussion and may need a gentle prompt to bring them back.

• If one or more individuals dominate the discussion, you may consider directly addressing quieter participants, inviting them to voice their ideas, or asking the group to expand on or respond to what has been said.
• Ensuring that everyone speaks early in response to the opening question or icebreaker is helpful. Often, the longer a participant takes to speak, the more difficult it can be to jump in.
• Watch for signs as to why a participant is not speaking to gauge an appropriate response. The issues may be very close to home or triggering to someone, so they may not want to engage too closely. Likewise, other participants may need more time to process the scene and questions.
• If the session is online, participants may need to limit their participation due to environmental issues (e.g., they are in a very busy/loud area). Encourage them to participate via chat and make sure their comments aren’t forgotten.
• Be especially mindful of participants joining a hybrid session virtually. It’s easy to overlook them or their comments.