Discussion 01: Introduction to Group Support
Before we dive into the Group Leadership & Development aspects, it is important to know what 7Cups Group Support.
As per Merriam Webster Dictionary, Group is a number of individuals assembled together or having some unifying relationship. While group dynamics are the attitudinal and behavioral characteristics of a group. It is focused on how groups form, their structure and process, and how they operate. More specifically, why and how groups develop.
This is what you will notice in the 7 Cups Group Support. 7Cups started with providing support 1-1s. But as we grew up, we realized that 1-1s are not enough. There is a need for group interaction as well. To meet the community's needs and demands, we added group support. We created and used chat rooms to structure a safe environment to facilitate group support. We have dedicated chat rooms for both listeners and members to provide support as per their needs.
Currently, we have more than 150+ chat rooms to serve different purposes and needs of both members and listeners community for both adults and teens. Amazing! Right?
We are a vast community and we recognize our diversified members and their needs and demands. And, these chat rooms became safe spaces to connect, interact, engage, learn, share, and grow collectively. These rooms are not only used for support reasons but also to brainstorm and problem solves, celebrate small and big achievements, and gain a sense of belonging to this community.
Moving forward, we identified the needs of moderating these rooms, so we introduced the chat room moderator role, figured out we need facilitators to lead different sessions in the chat rooms, so added Support Session Leader and On-spot Host as the recent addition to it. We figured out the safety issues in the chat rooms, and we badge locked the rooms. So as we learned more about the needs and demands, we kept iterating and evolving group support for better experiences and support for everyone. We are on a journey to build the best group support. And, we will continue to progress …
Discussion: Share 3 highs and 3 lows you experienced in the group support chatroom!
Activity: Respond to at least two of your fellow trainees' comments with thoughts on their share.
After fulfilling the requirements of this post, please check out the next discussion here! Ensure to implement the learning from these discussions in the chat rooms to build and support the group. You must take part in the brainstorming/activities given in all of these discussions to successfully complete the program.
@ASilentObserver
Share 3 highs and 3 lows you experienced in the group support chatroom
3 Highs:
When I first started on Cups, I would go into the member support rooms. After just a few days, I was so happy to see that people that I had talked with before were there and they remembered me.
The first time that I joined in a Healthy Habits session, the host was wonderful and he walked me through what the room was about and how to join in the queue to share. After my share, others in the room were so warm and supportive that it really made me feel good and glad that I took the chance to open up and share.
Being an on-spot host in the Sharing Circle. I was so nervous! People in the room (who were regulars and the Mod) all supported me, helped me laugh off my blunders and were generous with their praises when I finished. This gave me the courage to continue on a path of hosting. The support and encouragement I recieved was awesome!
3 Lows:
When I was still a newbie, I was in a room and someone came in with the purpose of picking an arguement with someone else in the room. It was very uncomfortable to be there so I just left.
I've had someone openly call me stupid and say other mean things because I spelled a word wrong in an open chat.
When I was hosting, as a member, a listener came in a just took over and completely ignored my efforts at welcoming people, guiding the queue, ect. The Mod on duty had to gently ask them to stop and let me doing the hosting. This really made me feel like I wasn't valued or was inept at hosting.
The Highs were MUCH easier to do, as those moments stay with me and still make me smile when I remember them. The Lows were much more difficult to name as I had to give them some thought to recall, lol.
@Sher217 @specialSnow9454 @Dino12 @ines1229 @azalea98 @kieran000
Thank you for sharing your highs and lows with us. I am glad you had good moments and sorry to hear about the awful experiences.
So this specific activity was to embrace the goodness of those people who made you feel belonged and recall what traits they had, so you can develop it in yourself as well as focus to cultivate it in the group you will facilitate as a group leader.
And the lows are to address those challenges you experienced. Use your learning, group dynamics skills, feel free to experiment and test ideas, feel free to suggest and discuss any ideas or ways to make the situation better so that others do not experience those awful moments that you did as a participant at one point in the group chatroom.
We all can discuss, figure out, make a plan, and execute it as a group facilitator to create a better group environment for all.
Hi @Sher217, When I went to my second sharing circle as a newbie, I was also happy to see that everyone remembered me. Additionally, I was surprised that everyone did because I did not feel like I was that important. Furthermore, I also hosted a sharing circle on the spot and was very nervous. However, when a room supporter guided me, they helped me out, and I was able to do an okay job. It’s great that we shared some of the same experiences, and I hope your experiences here remain positive.
@Desmynn6789
Hey there! I'm so glad that you've had positive experiences in the Sharing Circle. There some really great people in there 💜
~ Sher
@Sher217
I agree — the highs are so much easier to do than the lows :o
@Sher217 iagree with highs being so much easier to do aswell!
Hi
3 HIGHS:
1. Talking in the room for the first time. Everyone was so supportive.
2. Given support at the te I needed it while a difficult chat.
3. Participating in the discussion for the first time. Everyone present showed respect and humility.
3 LOWS
1. Encountering a fight between two members who got aggressive.
2. An ill mannered member
3. It was a really hard chat but there was no chat support or anyone in the room.
☺️☺️☺️☺️❤️
Share 3 highs and 3 lows you experienced in the group support chatroom:
Highs:
1) being able to find a good balance between supporting others and having fun and light-hearted chat
2) fun and engaging and educational discussions and support sessions that were super interactive and I learned so much from
3) making new friends and meeting new people and having the ability to integrate into the community and learning what opportunities I have
Lows:
1) Lack of inclusivity, cliques, arguments, problems, general overall negativity
2) Feeling overwhelmed from fast paced rooms and not realizing I could stop and take a break whenever I need
3) Sessions that had no participation and rooms that were consistently empty were disheartening
Hi @Dino12,
I was also able to find a balance between supporting other people and light-hearted chatting. At first I thought it was going to be difficult, but it was easier than I thought. As far as the lows, I have also encountered rooms to where there wasn’t any participation and it was really empty. It makes me sad to see how empty it is. Additionally, I have also felt overwhelmed in rooms that are fast past paced because I try to find my place in the chat. It sounds like you have great experiences and I hope they continue to be positive ❤️😊.
@Desmynn6789
Thanks for sharing! 💙
@Dino12
Very well-written!! Loved this 💛
@Dino12 I agree with you on the educational discussions here, I have all learned so much about different things worldwide.
@ASilentObserver
Share 3 highs and 3 lows you experienced in the group support chatroom!
When I first joined 7 Cups, I used to be quite reluctant when it comes to group chatrooms / support. This is probably due to the fact that support groups I have tried in the past haven't been a positive experience for myself and haven't found them quite useful. However, I decided to give it a shot again on here, and now I am really glad I did so!
3 highs
- Being given amazing support and amazing answers from experienced listeners to all of my questions whilst I was a newbie.
- Being able to support others; I think it is really useful to ask questions within groups, as it is often the case other listeners would benefit from hearing/seeing the answers to questions that are being asked in chatrooms too!
- Receiving support and feeling heard; Listeners Sharing Circles can be really great examples of inspiring group activity. There are always things to learn from others' experiences and the encouraging, warm atmosphere is an absolutely amazing feeling!
3 lows
- Sometimes, when group support rooms lack of moderators, discussions can grow over the topic, and it happens for members of the chat to forget about the aims of the specific group. This just shows how important moderators and room supporters are!
- Conflicts can raise among members of a group, which makes it incredibly important for everyone to be reminded of de-escalation techniques.
- Sharing usernames and detailes of chats in a group environment, whilst holding a complaint about what has happened, which automatically has the potential to trigger trangulation and other conflicts.
@ASilentObserver
3 Highs:
1) The amazingly vast amount of people you can interact with in a day still blows my mind every day! You have the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people ♥️
2) Learning from more experienced listeners, although this can happen in Pms too. I feel most of my experience of 7 cups where I've felt I have learnt the most has been observing things said my Chat supporters and Mods 💚
3) The fun discussions held and the opportunity to host them yourself! The creative things you can hold discussions on are simply amazing, my favourite being the compliment war. Makes me smile every time ☺️
3 Lows:
1) Unfortunately triggering content does crop up in a group setting more than it would in Pms as that's the nature of having more people talking and going through topics faster
2) Sometimes you can feel excluded when you join halfway through a conversation or it's clear that there is a group of people that are all very connected in the chatroom at the same time and you don't know what to say to feel included.
3) It's not uncommon for new people to the site to be unaware of chatroom rules or sometimes blatantly disregard them. Unfortunately this often leads to a negative atmosphere being left in that chatroom for a while.
Hi @Azalea98,
I have also experienced triggering content in a group chat. Additionally, I agree that with more people talking, it can make the topics go through faster which makes room for triggering content. Furthermore, I also think it is great how you can host many different kinds of discussions in a group chat. The group chat is fun and you meet the most amazing people there.
@aza98
Hello 🙂 -
Im so glad to hear all the positives you are getting from the chatrooms - its awesome to hear you find it helpful to learn and observe chatroom mods, and room supporters. What a brilliant way to learn and improve on your skills 💗
Oooh and the "Compliment War" sounds awesome - ive never seen one of those being done. I'll have to check that out :o!
Thankyou for bringing up some negatives too, I agree with them all, 7cups are lucky to have people like *you* bringing positivity into the chatrooms 💓
Tabby
@ASilentObserver
Discussion: Share 3 highs and 3 lows you experienced in the group support chatroom!
3 Highs
1. I have made loads of good friends in support rooms, good sense of belonging and community in there.
2. It's nice to have a light hearted chat with members in a group support room after having hours of 1-1 Topic focussed chats with members. It helped me have like a break from the focussed 1-1 chats which did keep me motivated to keep listening.
3. Lots of ranges of types of people there, really diverse community and it was uplifting to see how everyone was respectful and inclusive of others even if they don't know them. I enjoyed welcoming and talking to members in the group support chat rooms.
3 Lows
1. Rarely but sometimes, group chat rooms have low levels of conflict in them. Some people use certain inappropriate language in there once when I was there.
2. Focussing on support rooms really slowed my 1-1 member chats down, I was accepting less chats as I was more focused on support rooms. I do like support rooms, I also like 1-1 chats, so I need to balance them a bit more I think.
3. I'm not really sure about another low for the group support rooms, sometimes people forget there are mods around and try to bypass censors I guess, group chat rooms should be a highly respectful environment all the time, but mostly it's respectful, just a odd moment where it drops a bit when people try to disrespect the censor rules.
@ListeningToYou2782
I'm so glad to hear you made so many friends! This community is so welcoming and I feel like I've belonged since day 1!
@ASilentObserver
3 Highs
⭐︎ Meeting and being friends with new people; seeing and catching up with familiar faces (usernames in this case :p )
⭐︎ Gain and share knowledge/ information whether in scripted discussions or open chats, there are many interesting things/ infos people share.
⭐︎ Give and receive support, empathy and kindness. It’s wonderful.
3 Lows
🍎 When I first hosted a rather empty discussion, and not many attendants joined the conversation/ discussion and fellow leaders in the team were unavailable to attend at that time. That felt like I’m on my own.
I’ve got used to that by now though and I try to attend sessions when other is hosting, whenever possible and participate actively, as I know it can feel rather disheartening.
🍎 In LSC, many times listeners joined and expecting LSC is a space like Member SC to share personal struggles not related to listening journey.
It feels so terrible and bad when we have to cut off the share in the middle of someone is opening up to be vulnerable, yet it has to be done because each group-support rooms have each of their own purposes and there’s rule to follow through.
🍎 Can’t recall anything significant for the 3rd low right now
@ASilentObserver
Share 3 highs and 3 lows you experienced in the group support chatroom!
3 Highs:
~ When I joined a member chatroom for the first time, I was a bit shy but I quickly began to get use to everything. All the people are so supportive and non-judgmental which I love and still till this day makes me so happy.
~ Hosting sharing circles and sessions was a struggle for me at first, but I began to learn and now I'm more experienced with it! Getting to hear people's thoughts a great way for me to relate and get to know them.
~ I have made a lot of awesome friends, and I have been meeting a lot of new people these days. It's really fun getting to know new people.
3 Lows:
~ I got extremely overwhelmed by the chatrooms, because I often get lost in them. So many chats at once and it just keeps going. Now, it's not as bad of course you will get a bit overwhelmed, but I have learned to manage that.
~ Getting anxiety when I might have said something wrong that made the other party feel some type of way. Sometimes people may take things a different way than it is intended to be.
~ Not knowing how to answer a specific question. I run into questions I can't answer all the time, but I figured out a way to guide myself when that happens.
@mxmes I agree with one of your lows, about people can take things different than what you mean, because since its texting one can misunderstand something said in a negative way
@mxmes
Glad to hear you managed to stop feeling so overwhelmed. It can surely be really difficult at times keeping up!!
HIghs
-It had a community-building feeling in the Teen Community Room as one person was dealing with an issue everyone wants to try to support them before they got moved to the support room instead.
- The use of sharing circles so that members had a place to share what is going on in their life was interesting when I was a host in the past.
- The idea of the Listener Sharing circle so that the listeners had a place to share stuff.
Lows
-When the teen community rooms would have cliche which made it tough to mod at times
-When members would fight the mods so that they could get an energy rush from it (unfortunately this happens a lot)
- When it took me about 2 weeks to access to the group chats from being a newbie.
3 highs:
1. The first time I hosted a Sharing Circle was a great moment for me. It was a major stepping stone on the way to hosting discussions and although it was a bit overwhelming as it moves fast, it went well overall.
2. When we changed the time of the Positivity and Gratitude discussions to two hours later, and all of a sudden there were loads more people attending (2-3 times as many) and the discussions became really lively and interesting.
3. I always love Sharing Circle, but there have been a couple of times that really stand out because everyone in the room was really supportive of each other, and I could relax as a host/ room supporter as the room felt very friendly and calm.
3 lows:
1. In one Sharing Circle I was in, someone was abusing their banner privileges in the room and kept removing the banner the community moderator had set for the host. It was so disruptive as people mentioned it every time they did it.
2. When someone came into the room just to disrupt, but having done the room supporter training I know that only mods are supposed to remind of the rules, and RS are supposed to redirect the conversation and use other techniques to de-escalate/ distract from the disruption. It can be really hard not to talk about the rules, especially when it feels like other members in the room are expecting you to do that.
3. I experienced a difficult situation when someone private messaged me to warn me about another user in the room we were all in. It's hard to acknowledge that the person was trying to be helpful with their warning, while avoiding triangulation.