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Post by Paul LaFleur on Sept 19, 2016 2:42:37 GMT
Now I know I got your attention with that one. Ok, so I have been reading the book "The Discussion Book: 50 great ways to get people talking" by Stphen D. Brookfield and Stpehen Preskill. It is a valuable resource for finding ways to engage people in conversation and get a great discussion started. I think I even saw some of Jeff's techniques that he used with us talked about in the book. Though I have not finished it, I don't know if you ever really do, I have found it helpful in groups settings already. It isn't a traditional book in that it has a beginning, middle and end. It is just a collection of 50 ideas and activities for getting people talking. It is an easy read, it can be picked up, read for a bit, put down and picked up a month or two later. I see it more being a reference book on my shelf than just something I read and set up on the book shelf to collect dust. I see myself pulling it down and looking for ideas for different situations I will run into. I urge each of you to give it a read. Here is a link to the book listed on Amazon. |
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Post by Sharon on Sept 19, 2016 13:49:01 GMT
Paul,
Can you share and describe a couple of the ideas that was discussed in the book? |
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Post by abjohnson on Sept 19, 2016 17:44:09 GMT
Paul, as you know, it is not easy except for those afflicted with Woo-Woo to initiate conversations. Great resource to start with. Johnson
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Post by Paul LaFleur on Sept 22, 2016 12:44:19 GMT
Sharon, I would love to...it really is a great book. I like Strategic Questioning...it teaches how to ask better questions by forcing people to really think about what they are asking. It also practices good listening skills. So a facilitator gives some some examples of good open ended questions and types of questions (questions seeking clarity, linking, synthesis, understanding, priority, etc). The group is broken into 3 person teams. Each person is assigned a role, one a "sharer, a "questioner", and "observer". Just like each title says, that is the role the person plays. The observer is taking notes on types of questions being asked and gives feedback to the sharer and questioner at the conclusion of the exercise. After 5 minutes of this the roles switch. This is done 3 times with the roles switching each time so everyone has a chance to play each role. This exercise allows people to practice their listening and questioning skills and build their questioning skills by hearing others.
Another great one is the Cocktail Party...Jeff used that with us on the first day to get us conversing and talking and seeing things from different perspectives.
My favorite is Critical Debate. It helps when a topic is polarizing and a group is divided. The facilitator asks a group is form two smaller groups, one that will draft arguments for something and one to draft arguments against the same topic. Once the groups are formed, inform them that they are to do the opposite of what they volunteered to do. Instruct them to not compromise their personal beliefs on the subject. This forces people to see things form the other perspective and to think about both sides of the argument. I like this to help open up close minded individuals.
Many of these can be adapted from a facilitator driven exercise to a group exercise in a meeting or team building session.
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