Every group needs to achieve a certain level of familiarity and safety to establish a process of constructive engagement in dialogue. Active facilitation plays an important role in enabling this and setting the space for balanced participation where everyone wants to join in.
PROMOTING ENGAGEMENT THROUGH
ACTIVE FACILITATION
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A facilitator will ensure good discussion quality as well as a sense of safety, setting the foundation for enabling the group to have constructive engagement.
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Modeling is a powerful facilitator tool. Participants can model the use of facilitation tools, body language, word choice, active listening, etc.
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Sometimes exaggerating your expressions in the virtual space is necessary. Also, use an inviting and friendly tone when asking participants to contribute.
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Typing summaries and questions in the chat can be crucial for engagement, while private messaging can help check in on individual participants.
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Be flexible with your agenda and follow your group’s lead if possible: If you feel the group is more inclined towards specific topics, spend some time on those. Don’t try to force activities simply because your plan says so.
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When the group demonstrates constructive engagement, observe that to the group, and congratulate them. The group will follow a pattern of engagement that is beneficial for their learning, growth, and authentic connections with each other. Let the participants give feedback on the sessions too. Do closing rounds - promote reflection!
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It really helps to enthusiastically welcome group members into the room when they first arrive and make small talk asking general questions that get everyone talking right away.
We’ve found that if participants begin talking when they first enter the room, they are likely to talk much more freely and easily once they switch over to more demanding topics.
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Ice-breakers can further encourage opening up and establish more authentic connections among the participants.
Have an introductory ice-breaker activity in every session based on where your group is in their journey.
In the first weeks, it could be something personal to get to know a little bit about each other, in the later weeks it could be more personal, as participants would be more comfortable with each other.
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It is good to let the group know that both technology and language bring challenges in communicating online in an intercultural group.
Normalize this and let the group know that your job as a facilitator is to ensure the impact of these challenges is as minimal as possible.
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Use prompts to bring in the personal:
- use personal questions;
- invite personal examples;
- encourage participants to share about their own context and life.The fact that online participants are not limited to sharing by speaking or writing but can bring more of themselves via images, videos, and sounds makes a BIG difference in making personal connections.
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Have elements in the session that stay the same, and can deepen personal engagement.
This can also mean non-verbal communication habits for the group to use during their sessions that you help the group to come up with.
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Everything in the group will go smoother if you manage to create an enjoyable and light space with your group where people not only discuss important issues but also have FUN.
If you can get the group laughing about the challenges they face, it will make a huge difference.
Conversations usually go much deeper if participants feel connected on a human level. Laughter and fun are a key part of this.
Additional Strategies
In addition to active facilitation during the dialogue sessions, what are some other things a facilitator could do with the group to ensure they are encouraged to engage right from the get-go?