Discussions are an excellent opportunity for participants to practise skills such as active listening, argumentation, public speaking, and consideration of multiple points of view. As a facilitator, you play an instrumental role in fostering fruitful and inclusive discussions. Below are some strategies and sample phrases to help you enhance active participation in discussions.
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Strategy |
Sample phrases |
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Paraphrasing - you validate a participant's contribution and ensure that their thoughts are clear to you and the rest of the group. |
"To make sure I understand what you’re saying, I am going to paraphrase…” |
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Connecting ideas - you encourage the group to relate their ideas, creating a synthesis that they may have not previously considered. |
“It sounds like your perspective on this topic parallels John's - you both seem to raise the point that..." |
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Giving neutral feedback - you acknowledge a participant's point without revealing your feelings about it and ask the group to think about the idea. |
"That's an interesting possibility. What do the rest of you think?" |
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Returning a question asked to you to the group - you empower the group to share their own knowledge and experience, and engage in the conversation. |
“Does anyone have a response?” |
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Provide structured opportunities for reflection and input - you change the pace, allowing for new ideas to surface when discussion is lagging. |
"Let’s take some time to think about alternative perspectives we might not have considered before..." |
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Create opportunities for all participants to partake - you ask those who have not yet participated to participate. The goal is for participants to have a choice to participate (i.e. not cold calling). |
“Can we hear from someone who hasn’t spoken yet?” |
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Ensure diverse perspectives are welcome - you promote the diversity of ideas and reflection on new perspectives. |
“What perspectives have we not yet considered? Does anyone want to weigh in?” |
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Refocus participants attention - you bring participants’ attention back if the discussion is going off track. |
“How do the issues that have just been raised relate to the question originally posed?” |
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Bring closure - you allow participants to summarize the central issues covered in the discussion. Likewise, you link the discussion to the learning objectives. |
“Can anyone summarize the key points we discussed? “ |
