Balance Participation

The most heroic of group members will begin to lose information in short-term memory without interaction with ideas. The most effective groups use processes learned in classrooms to keep members engaged and thoughtfully productive.

Any meeting that runs beyond 20 to 30 minutes without members being directed to turn to a neighbor and talk is probably burning out brain cells.

In one strategy, members turn to one another and summarize the most important point of the preceding conversation. In another strategy, pairs identify concerns about a topic before general discussion begins. In yet another, subgroups read and discuss a policy statement to identify topics for full group discussion.

The following protocols in the image carousel below can be used to balance participation and facilitate dialogue and discussion.

Additional protocols, adapted for online use are provided here