When you're planning the program, you and the committee will need to come up with
a trigger sentence -- a sentence that gets at the root of what needs to be found out.
This sentence needs to be incomplete and end with an ellipse ( . . . ). It should be short and
open-ended, that is, non-limiting. It should point to a future point in time.
Example "trigger sentences":
There is no single right way to develop a trigger sentence; you have a lot of latitude. It just depends on what the group needs to find out.
Begin the process by writing your trigger sentence on newsprint or a transparency while someone assists you by passing out golf pencils and 3 x 5 notecards. Ask people to respond to the trigger sentence privately with whatever pops in their heads. Stress that there are no right or wrong answers. Emphasize that they can write down as many ideas as they want, but quality is preferred over quantity. Each idea must be captures in one sentence, the shorter the better. Allow at least five minutes of silence for the audience to write down responses.
Important! At this point, use your easel and newsprint to dramatize the role of the small group and recorder as you continue to explain.
For example, "Ourtown's future would be brighter if *we* ...
Use "We" because it implies that members of the audience -- not somebody else -- are responsible for the solution.
Break the audience down into small discussion groups. Provide newsprint, a blue magic marker, and strips of masking tape at each small group site. If there is no wall space to post the newsprint, skip the tape and let each group work off of the table. Have participants number off so that there are from 5 - 7 people in a group. [For example, if there are 50 people and you want groups of 5, divide the number of people by the number you want in each group (50 divided by 5 = 10.) So the audience would number off from 1 to 10.] If the audience exceeds 50, ask participants to randomly scatter "fire drill style" in groups of your assigned size.
If the audience is sitting theater style and there is ample wall space to tape up newsprint, ask people to number off, then pick up their chairs and sit in a semi-circle facing the wall in assigned areas. If people are seated at tables, assign group numbers to tables and ask them to move accordingly.
Note. If you are working with a small group, less than 10 people, you will probably want to lead the entire group. But as a rule there is a distinct advantage to breaking into smaller groups -- universal participation and individual ownership of ideas. However, there may be times, especially if there is a time crunch, when you may need to exclusively serve as moderator and recorder for a larger group. But keep in mind that this will limit the individual participation and some people are hesitant to speak up when part of a larger audience.
Ask each group to pick a moderator/recorder. These can be different individuals or one person can assume both roles. Explain that the recorder will list the ideas on newsprint and the moderator will report the results back to the entire group at the conclusion. Allow them to decide how this person is selected.
Your instructions at this juncture are critical. Here is what you might say while role playing with an easel and newsprint:
Note: You will have to balance this phase of the exercise against the clock. You might want to give them a rough time frame for this phase so they will be more task-oriented. Twenty-five minutes is the bare minimum. Closely monitor how the recording/discussion is progressing. Some groups will list their ideas more quickly than others and you need to give them permission to begin the discussion. You may also need to diplomatically prod other groups to move along. Keep reminding the groups that they can't discuss ideas until all have been listed.
Voting. When the groups are ready to vote, leave enough adhesive "dots" with each group so that each participant has a red, blue, and yellow dot. Instruct participants to scan their group's list and quietly and privately write down the numbers of their top three choices, rank order, on their index card. Give them a few minutes to decide.
Next, ask them to peel off one of each color and stick it on the back of their hand, on their forehead, or wherever. Ask them what color would be 1st place at a fair or track meet. They'll respond, "blue." Do the same with red for 2nd place. Then explain that 3rd place is yellow because white won't show up on newsprint. Important. Explain that they are duty-bound to adhere to the top three choices they wrote on their cards. Otherwise, they will fall victim to "group think" or the "sheep syndrome" -- after the first several people file up to the newsprint and stick their dots around their preferred numbers, everybody else will follow suit because they don't want to be the only "weirdo" who voted for number, say, 17.
After all the dots are place, explain that they are weighted. Blue = 3 points; red = 2 points; and yellow = 1 point. Ask a "mathematician" from each group to count the votes for each idea and record the count next to the respective number with a pencil.
Last, give each group a red magic marker and ask the recorder to renumber the list in the margin's white space according to the votes received.
Inevitably, when the groups tally votes, there will be some ties. Explain that when this occurs, the following number must be adjusted. For example, if there is a tie for second place, the next number is not third, but fourth, because there are three numbers in front of it.
Report-backs. The report-back phase is the highlight of democratic brainstorming. Each group has its moment in the sun and a great deal of learning occurs as the entire audience gains a broader perspective by listening to all of the group summary reports.
At this point, you should assume a reassuring and entertaining role. Explain that you would like to have the moderators for each group come up front when their group number is called and give a short report, summarizing their top 5 ideas.
If you have a lot of groups, time can become a problem. This is a judgment call, but it may be necessary to limit each group to its top 3 ideas. (Helpful Hint: If you anticipate some "windy" reports, a kitchen timer clock will work wonders at keeping on schedule. If you interrupt personally, some people bristle or become defiant; but it's hard for even a blatherer to argue with a dinging instrument without looking silly.)
It's best to call the groups up in random order -- the suspense keeps the audience alert. Write the numbers on a card and jump around on the list, scratching off each number as you call it out. Remember, some people live in mortal fear of speaking before a group, so be supportive of the moderators. Challenge the audience to listen attentively and note any recurring themes as well as differences in the reports.
With an "assistant" standing by, call out the numbers and greet the moderators, asking that they state their name and group number. The assistant takes the newsprint and holds it up while the moderator gives the summary report, listing the top 5 ideas in rank order. After each report, try to make some interesting and supportive comment. And corny though it might seem, a round of applause will rev up the audience.
After all of the reports have been made, ask the audience what common threads emerged out of the reports. Explain that no idea will be lost; all the newsprint will be collected and a summary report will be issued by the sponsoring group or community organization. (Important: Don't let the groups or organizations you are facilitating stick you with this task -- you will invest an inordinate amount of time which they will scarcely appreciate. Furthermore, by transcribing, summarizing, and analyzing the newsprint themselves, THEY will learn a great deal and value the results.)
"The Master List" Option. The above report-back method does not attempt to arrive at any "grand consensus." The group reports stand by themselves and are transcribed and analyzed later to determine patterns and draw up a master list of priorities.
Another approach, described below, allows you, as facilitator, to come up with a master list of priorities as the small groups give their individual reports. There are several distinct advantages to this approach. First, the audience participates in drawing up the master list and ranking it instead of relying on a few individuals to do so after the meeting. This adds to the credibility of the results. Second, everyone leaves the meeting with a clear idea of what the entire audience's priorities are and are now ready to launch into the action planning phase.
Basically, you will handle this approach identically to the regular report-backs, except that as each group reports, you will record their top three priorities on newsprint before the entire audience, numbering them consecutively. After a few groups have reported, you will probably encounter a lot of duplication, so you won't have to write down all three priorities for each group.
Remember, recording other's ideas is as much an art as a science. Apply the same principles and guidelines you used earlier to instruct the recorders. Since you will be preoccupied recording the ideas, you will need additional backup assistance in calling the moderators up to the front and handling newsprint, etc.
At the conclusion of the reports, you will have a master list of priorities. Now proceed to have the audience vote on this master list in the same manner as before. If your audience is too large to use dots on the master list, you may use a matrix to tally the large group's vote, calling for a show of hands from the audience and recording votes with hash marks.
On to the next section -- Your Wrap-Up
Back to Facilitating For Results Content
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