How to facilitate a group discussion

Group discussions may be conducted in person, with remote participants (via online meeting or webinar software), in an online forum (such as an internal social network), or via another technique that works best for your organization.

Before the activity:

1. Determine the ideal group size for your discussion.

If your group is too small (ie., fewer than 4) participants may feel pressured to answer, and the discussion may not yield as rich a range of viewpoints as with a larger group. Too large, though, and it becomes difficult to give everyone the chance to share while keeping to a reasonable time frame. A good rule of thumb for group sizes:

• In person: 4 to 12.
• Remote: 4 to 8. It may take extra time for people to become comfortable with the technology, and conversation may not flow as quickly as when everyone’s in the same room. A smaller group size helps ensure that there’s enough time for everyone to contribute.
• Online forum: The more the merrier, although you may need more than one moderator to accommodate particularly large and/or active groups.

2. Plan the session to last 20 to 30 minutes.

This duration should be long enough allow for viewing the learning material (like a video or case study) and sharing substantive ideas, but not so long that there’s time for the conversation to wander. The short time frame should also be fairly easy to schedule and feel “doable” for participants.

3. Review the suggested discussion questions.

Which ones make the most sense for this particular group? Focus on those, and write down additional ones you think would be useful given the group’s context and your organization’s culture. If you’re adding questions, remember to keep them open-ended (eg.,What impact would this have on team motivation?, instead of Would this impact team motivation?, which could be answered with a simple yes or no). The best discussions happen when there are no “wrong” answers and participants are prompted to share their actual thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

4. Do a run-through and test your technology.

You’ll be amazed how much more smoothly your sessions go if you do a quick test session beforehand.

• In person: If possible, go to the room where the session will be held and connect your computer to the display equipment. Bring along at least one other person to act as a test “participant.” Then practice delivering the activity introduction, reviewing the learning material (playing the video or reading the case study), and transitioning to at least the first question. Ask for feedback on the session flow and clarity of your instructions.
• Remote: Open a video conference with at least one test “participant” and do a practice run, including using any features you plan to use for the discussion, like sharing your screen or the video link, muting and unmuting participants, hand-raising, and chat. Ask for feedback on the session flow and clarity of your instructions.
• Online forum: Set up a test forum with at least one test “participant.” Depending on the software you’re using, there may be several ways to present content and interact with participants; try out a few of the ways to post videos, case study links, and questions. Ask for feedback on which methods work best for your audience.

5. Send participants a pre-event email that includes technology instructions. Prepare participants for any unfamiliar technology.

In addition to typical what, when, where, information, be sure your pre-event email includes basic instructions for any technology not commonly used by your participants.

During the session:

1. Start with brief introductions.

To open the session, ask participants to briefly introduce themselves to each other. Give them specific questions to answer to keep them on point. For example, “Please tell us your name, position, and what you hope to get out of today’s session.”

2. Introduce the topic and learning content.

Describe the topic and goal of the session (feel free to use the language in our activity Intro & setup) before playing the video or reading the case study.

3. Begin the discussion with volunteers (or provide reassurance to reticent groups).

After reviewing the learning content, you ask your first discussion question — there will usually be at least one or two participants who volunteer to speak first. If participants seem hesitant, remind them that there are no wrong answers, and that this is meant to be an opportunity to discuss and learn from each other’s ideas and experiences. (You may also want to get agreement among participants that what is said in the session stays there.)

4. Guide the discussion to keep it flowing smoothly.

Depending on the dynamics of your specific group, this can include any number of techniques to ensure everyone gets an opportunity to share, that key ideas are explored fully, and that participants remain respectful of each other. Techniques may include:

• Asking open-ended follow-up questions. This is especially important if a participant’s opinions seem incomplete or controversial. For example, “Could you explain more what you mean by that? Why do you feel that way?”
• Keeping participants from talking over each other. This issue is more common during sessions that include remote participants. If it becomes a problem, ask remote participants to use a “raise hand” feature to indicate that they want to speak. And be sure that in-person participants follow suit by raising their hands and waiting to be called on before speaking.
• Drawing out someone who won’t volunteer. Groups can start to become uncomfortable when one participant is very quiet. To draw out a quiet participant, use the person’s name and ask an open-ended question, giving them time to formulate a response. For example, “Sunil, what do you think of the approach the manager in the video took when confronting his boss?”
• Preventing a participant from monopolizing the discussion. If someone continually chimes in or wanders off on a tangent, you can gently interject by thanking the person for their insights, then shifting the conversation to someone else as in the example for quiet participants (above). For example, “Thanks for sharing that viewpoint, Andrew. I wan to make sure everyone has a chance to share. Sunil, what do you think…”
• Being especially proactive to include remote participants during blended sessions. It can be challenging for remote participants to feel as included as their in-person peers. With this in mind, make remote participants’ names or faces visible in some way as a reminder that they are present, offer to repeat questions or answers that you think remote participants may not have heard, and be sure to call on remote participants first sometimes (always calling on them last can make them feel like an afterthought).
• Using gentle reminders to keep the conversation civil. While it’s rare that participants will be rude or abusive to one another, it can happen. If a participant seems to be hurting someone else’s feelings, gently interject into the conversation and remind the group that this is a safe space for discussion, that there are no wrong answers, and everyone has opinions based on their own experiences.

5. Be flexible with your question guide.

If one particular question seems to be sparking a lot of substantive discussion for your group, consider sticking with it and skipping other questions you had planned. As long as the participants are staying on topic, they may well learn more from covering one question in depth than covering all of the questions on your list.

6. Keep track of time, and announce when you only have a few minutes left.

Be sure you have a clock easily visible to keep track of time. A few minutes before the end of your session, let participants know that time is coming to a close, so people can be sure to share their final thoughts.

7. Conclude the session with a 5-minute round of takeaways.

Preserve the last 5 minutes of the session for a quick round in which each participant shares their top takeaways. Then thank participants for their time, ideas, and experiences. And tell them you’ll be sending out an email with links for further reading on the subject so that they can keep learning and maintain connections with others in the session.