Announcement: Group Mod Challenge
Hello Moderator Team
I’ve got a challenge for you! Are you ready?
- Take a look at the communication styles as shown in the image above. Which four of the styles fit your communication style best? Let us know that in the comments below!
- Find a mod to partner up with to go mod and foster healthy conversation in the chat rooms for half an hour at least 6 times in a two-week span.
- Observe and take notes on the communication approach of your mod partner and the mod partner will be doing the same for you. (Please note that communication styles and approaches can and will vary and that’s alright!)
- Participate in the Group Mod Zone Room and compare your notes and share with fellow mods to learn about each others’ communication styles. Also, share the vibe of the room you both were modding to share in the Mod Room. The vibe of the room here means how was the room environment at the start of joining and when you left. You could share it on a scale of 1-10 where 1 would be “Meh” and 10 as “Awesome”.
Your mod partner can be:
- Any community moderator on shift (just let them know 1-1 before you join as a partner with them on their shift).
- A fellow community-centered chat room moderator of the same community who could be present at the same time as you will be able to participate in the room.
- A global moderator who could be present at the same time as you will be able to participate in the room.
To complete the challenge of visiting and moderating the rooms at least six times in a two-week span, your mod partner can be different if the same mod partner can’t be present. If you have more than one partner, you will simply take notes of different mods' communication styles and approaches and share them with them and fellow moderators in the group mod zone.
Every time you complete one session, drop it in the comments of this thread to log your active participation.
The goal of this challenge:
- Identify your own communication approach in the group dynamics and how it changed/evolved as the situation in the room changed.
- Identify how having a partner with you changed/ helped to foster a supportive and compassionate environment in the chatroom.
- What were the challenges? What surprised you? What type of communication approach works best for you?
At the end of this two-week challenge, you will receive information for the next one! And at the end of the quarter, the top 3 chat room moderators who complete all the challenges successfully will be awarded the most prestigious award: Award-Winning Mod!
Criteria of Award-Winning Mod
- Being passionate about group support chat rooms
- Being compassionate and engaging with the community members
- Being professional and ensure the safety of the room
- Using active listening and de-escalation with all chat participants.
- Being supportive to the fellow chat room moderators and room supports
- Being an open-minded communicator
- Being yourself and having fun while being there in the rooms.
Fun fact! To this day, only 12 chat room moderators have earned this exclusive award! And for extra incentive, every chat room moderator will be awarded 100 cheers per activity they complete.
I am signing up for the challenge and I invite every moderator to accept the challenge too! May we grow together as the best moderators of the community!
Activity #2
Partner: @AnnaTess 👻
Session date: April 14th, 2021
Session time: approx 9 am ET
Room: Member Community Room
Notes: AnnaTess uses a very friendly and casual style. A verbal warning was given and I observe how the conversation style can change from casual to more strict and distant from casual style of conversion.
I've observed it in my chats too which depends on circumstances and how much is going on.
I'm becoming more confident in my hypothesis that most of mods are not moderating within one clear category of moderation style. It can change very fluently.
We all have different 'masks' and we put them on in different situations and within different circumstances.
Activity #12
Partner: @AnnaTess
Session date: April 15th, 2021
Session time: 5:00pm-6:00pm
Room: Sharing Circle
Notes: We co-hosted Sharing Circle session. I would say it was a productive and supportive session for the members. We discussed and came to the conclusion that our styles remained the same even though we switched to a different room. Anna was still socializer style while I'm a mix of thinker and relator.
Activity #13
Partner: @crystalclearnow
Session date: April 15th, 2021
Session time: 8:00pm-9:00pm
Room: Sharing Circle
Notes: We co-hosted Sharing Circle session. I think crystal's moderation style is thinker where as for me, I was a mix between thinker and relator again. As a fairly new mod who's still finding her way, I'm now starting to think my consistent and perferable style is a mix between thinker and relator. And that I occassaionaly change into socializer style depending on scenario.
Activity #14
Partner: @LuLuRings
Session date: April 15th, 2021
Session time: 9:15pm-10:00pm
Room: Family & Caregivers
Notes: We co-modded guided discussion session. It was an interesting experience for me as the topic of guided discussion topic was outside of my typical comfort zone. I noticed myself taking on more of a RS role approach and help members engage in discussion and leave the leading part to Lulu. After this session, I would say observation from previous session working with Lulu is still accurate.
Activity #4
Partner: @richuyulin
Session date: April 16th, 2021
Session time: Midnight - 12:30 a.m. EDT/EST
Room: Support Room 24x7
Notes: Had another great check-in with Richy in the SR. It was a bit stressful because we had to de-escalate in response to sensitive topics but glad I had support from another mod. I think that we both had similar styles to last time we were in SR 24x7. Me: socialiser. Richy: mix of relator and thinker. Thanks for asking me to join you Rich <#
Activity #15
Partner: @jovialButterfly6752
Session date: April 16th, 2021
Session time: 12:00am-12:30am
Room: Support Room 24/7
Notes: Thank you for joining me today. It's been a pleasure to get to work with you again. When we arrived, things were a bit tense as we had to work together to de-escalate a sensitive topic. I'm there was support from another mod. Our observations from today's session remained the same from our previous session, which is I'm a mix between thinker and relator, while jovial is a socializer.
Activity #16
Partner: @CommunityModElliot
Session date: April 16th, 2021
Session time: 1:20am-1:50am
Room: Member Community Room
Notes: Yayy! Another activity completed. Another learning experience. My observations from last time we worked together holds true with minor edit to my style. I'm a mix of thinker and relator. Where as Elliot is a socializer.
Side note: Grateful for the opportunity to connect and learn from more experienced mods.
@ASilentObserver
If anyone is looking for a partner and our times can match please let me know
Activity #17
Partner: @Sunisshiningandsoareyou
Session date: April 16th, 2021
Session time: 10:15am-10:45am
Room: Special Events
Notes: Thank you for hosting pop-up and letting me join in! It was a blast! Had lots of fun joking around with members. It was interesting to note how moving to a different room, it brought out a different style of moderation from us. Sun's style changed to socializer during the session while mine was a mix of relator and socializer.
Activity #2
partner - @richuyulin
Date - 16th April
Time - 10:15 - 10:45 am ET
Room - Special Events
Notes - Yay, yet another amazing session with Lin in a very special room haha ! Enjoyed the session too much, with active and engaging participants.
Today I've been told my style turned into socializer, which I feel mostly only comes out during sessions or fun events .
Lin was a mix of relator and socializer, again we had a similar trait today and it also made modding seem fun and easy going for the room ! ❤
Can't wait to do this again,Lin 😄
