Leading a Discussion TIPS

Here are my tips if you plan on leading a discussion or if you are new to discussions.

Discussions must have at least ONE group mod!

1) Before you ever lead a discussion, get used to talking in groups and supporting users in groups.

I mention this because when you are in a discussion, you can have a lot of members sharing and if you are not used to many members sharing parts of their story, it can feel overwhelming for someone who is not used to the flow of a group room. While a discussion, there is that common thread of a question unlike in a group room where everyone is trying to get support, just being able to support many people in a room without a discussion can give you a backbone in the discussion leading.

2) Read through the questions that you will ask, anticipate any answers, and know your stuff.

This is important because if you are leading a discussion, it might help if you know what you are talking about and sound prepared. It might not seem like a lot but if you are abe to have a simple grasp of what you are going to be talking about, it can help in leading the discussion. Members can tell when a discussion leader is prepared versus just copying and pasting replies. It helps to anticipate answers that might happen, and write them on the side of your discussion to include when you end up summarizing if you choose to do so.

3) Time Spent on Questions

A good rule of thumb is that if there are 10 questions, you spend around 5 minutes on each. But this being said, if the members are done answering a question, don't feel like you have to stay on the question. Quiet pauses or times where members are not talking about the questions anymore can cause a drop in numbers in your discussion and cause members to feel bored. Scan the room, before moving on to the next question, ask them if they are ready to move on or if anyone has any more thoughts, wait a minute or so, then post the next question.

4) Replying to members directly

When you are replying to a member in a discussion, you are going to reflect, validate, and empathize with the member. I like to point out something good that they mentioned if anything like that. Something else I really like to do is thank them for sharing their story or thank them for their answer. If it is a question that's not too personal, I like to say something like "That's a really good answer."

5) There are so many members, I can't respond to all their replies!

When I have a lot of members in the room, I let them know that there are a lot of them and that I might not acknowledge every single one of them, but that I am reading every single reply. Something I do to make sure that they know that I have heard all of them is instead of replying to each member, I summarize what the room said for that question. Some questions that are perfect for summarizing are things that involve them sharing coping methods, types of thoughts, etc.

6) Do I summarize their responses together or do I reply to a few of them?

This can really depend on the room itself. I find that you will know when you are leading the discussion if the situation calls for you to summarize or not. But if you find that most people are saying the same things, you can be like "Sounds like most of the room... "

Some good phrases to help summarize

"Sounds like most of you...."

"So some ____ are: "

"I can see a mix of different views here, some ___ while others __"

Some good phrases to help validate a sharing member

"I am sorry to hear ___"

"I am glad to hear ___"

"It sounds like ___ would be ___"

Feel free to share any tips you might have when it comes to leading a discussion! If anyone has any questions, feel free to post or PM me. I am willing to help someone who is nervous about leading a discussion!