Discussion 02: Building a Group

Recently I instant host member sharing circle and it seem late night according to my time zone.

Being nervous first time. But I thought to give a try. After reading the content you shared above on group support I could connect with the experience the challenge I faced was that though there were 20 plus member inthe room but when someone was sharing rarely people encourage hardly one person and we empathize it.

2nd) few member type * to be in queue when their chance came they went offline or did not spoke.

It happen like thrice . Overall 2 to 3 share happen in one hour and it seem like member vent out his or her thought. I was confused whether I was not able to create an environment. later the mod said to me people sometime go offline. Still I was curious how we can make people encourage to speak and other also to keep participate.

3rd ) member sharing circle had lot of content to put up before starting the share I felt hardly people read or say let it be. Compare to listener sharing room is v short. So i was finding it uneasy why so much to paste. I felt it make the process slow but yeah it has it reason. I feel if it short and sweet at the start the effort of facilitator or host would be reduce. That my side of thinking. For regular host it might be easy.

4th) one member kept asking who next whenever someone who chance to share is silent though queue list was posted. I ask them to type * if want to share. They said no not this time. Later we wrap up they kept wondering who shared ..who shared though moderator answer her, as back to back two member did not turn up and it was time to wrap up.

Like we get script to make the process easy and understand how to host the sharing circle smoothly and know order. Maybe we could read somewhere people experience in hosting sharing circle. So we know what come up or it ok thing happen often . Nothing to feel bad about it or guidance where to work on ourself

So I feel I have to work more on creating encouraging or belonging environment. I dont know how. Maybe coming few mins before and interacte normally and than start.

When I lead listener sharing circle, sometimes people don't want to enter the queue to share, but I've found that by doing ice breakers people are willing to talk, and then after a while people start to enter the queue to share, and once one person shares more people are willing to share.

What I learned from this experience is that you sometimes have to break the ice and get people talking, but once you get people talking it seems to make the room a little more welcoming and a little more fun.

Discussion: Share a challenge experienced while building a group in the chatrooms? What did you learn?

A challenge that I frequently experience in the group rooms is making sure everyone feels heard and welcome when there are people who know each other well and people who don't. This seems especially pronounced when a member has a good relationship with a leader (host, RS, mod). As a leader in this situation it's hard as I want to acknowledge the things a member I know well is saying to me, often about something from an earlier discussion. However, if there is too much of this sort of thing it can make newer members feel left out. I have learnt to acknowledge what the well-known member is saying, but to quickly move on to something that can involve everyone. It's definitely a balancing act.

In chat rooms, it is sometimes a challenge to join the conversation. When I enter a room, I greet the members, the students, and then a little silence, as if asking me, "what do you want?" I ask, is everyone okay? If I find that they tend to communicate with me and I haven’t interrupted their conversation, I’ll be happy to stay longer.

@ASilentObserver

Discussion: Share a challenge experienced while building a group in the chatrooms? What did you learn?

There are two things that I find challenging while in rooms first is the mod badge, it can act as an intruption to the normal chat and make some of the participants be more "careful", which can make the vibe a bit uncomfortable, in this case I've found that joking about that can be helpful, when someone refers to me like, "oh, a mod entered" I go with a response like "a mod?? :o I can't see any lol"

Another more challenging one is keeping the chat inclusive of all, as some of the other leaders shared too, specially when there are older member knowing each other well in the room it can be really hard for a new comer to understand what's going on and join in to the conversation, in this case trying to manage a balance between engaging with oldies and using both ice breakers and clear explanation of what everyone is talking about is helpful

this can also happen when the room is crowded and flaws really fast, in this case noticing all new comers and being able to engage in the chat and also update them on what is going on to include them can be hard, but not undoable

Keeping people engaged while you are hosting.

I picked this tricked up. When hosting as a rs but starting to use it when I am hosting the listener check ins..

I find before that starting off line with icebreaker really sets the mood on the the chat.it helps. People be more willing to chat and be more relaxed.

Also saying things there are cookies. , hot drinks or fireplaces really calms the room down really fast and helps be feel safe of engaging in thr chat.

Discussion: Share a challenge experienced while building a group in the chatrooms? What did you learn?

A challenge can be lack of participation even when the room shows that users are joining. Sometimes users watch instead of actively participate during discussions.

I learned that repeating the current question for everyone who joins the room helps. Encouragement from the host is a huge factor in getting an active discussion.

@ASilentObserver

A challenge I experienced while building a group in the chatroom was low participation and engagement. I learned that various things contribute to this, some in my control, others not so much. Here are some of the factors and what I've learned:

1) Multiple discussions occurring at the same time is a bad idea. (Note: these discussions don't include Sharing Circle and Healthy Habit sessions.) Members end up spread out between the different events. As a result, the sessions are less active overall. So I learned to double-check the community calendar before scheduling any events I might host.

2) Many lurk instead of participating during the beginning as they don't want to be the first one. I have found that sometimes a bit of encouragement is all that's needed to bring these lurkers into participating. Something as simple as "the next person who shares will get chocolate" can encourage them to participate.

3) Members are less likely to speak up if they see the room is dead. So having some interesting ice breaker questions handy is great for when no one wants to share. It would help to keep the conversation going and keep the participants engaged in the discussion.

4) Members who have had a bad experience in group chat rooms where mods were slow to respond may be hesitant to participate with no host or an inexperienced host for the session. As a regular well-respected host, I've learned that the simple presence of me being in the room can help ease the hesitation and concerns members have. Sometimes having someone they know and trust is all it takes regardless of who is in the hosting spotlight and who has the mod badge and power.

5) Through hosting across different time slots, I've found that some timing is better than others in terms of member turnout as it conflicts with less number of members' schedules. Some time slots can have one, maybe two participants, while others have 10+ easily. So I note down when the active sessions occur and try to schedule the next event I host around the same time.

@ASilentObserver
Share a challenge experienced while building a group in the chatrooms? What did you learn?

While I haven't built a group in the chatrooms, I would definitely say that a challenge is lurking. Not everyone gains a bolstering amount of confidence even with the anonymity and is ready to burst their social doors down and make friends. People are still shy, sometimes scared to speak. I say this from experience. What I find to be helpful is that a warm welcome and encouragement to speak helps, especially when a person is new to the chatrooms (like me, hehe.) Something simple as, "Hi [insert name here]. We are currently [listening to/talking about topic]. If you would like, you can have a chance to talk when you're ready."

@ASilentObserver
Share a challenge experienced while building a group in the chatrooms? What did you learn?

While I haven't built a group in the chatrooms, I would definitely say that a challenge is lurking. Not everyone gains a bolstering amount of confidence even with the anonymity and is ready to burst their social doors down and make friends. People are still shy, sometimes scared to speak. I say this from experience. What I find to be helpful is that a warm welcome and encouragement to speak helps, especially when a person is new to the chatrooms (like me, hehe.) Something simple as, "Hi [insert name here]. We are currently [listening to/talking about topic]. If you would like, you can have a chance to talk when you're ready."