Page 32 - BigConversationsDismantlingRacism

Initial Plan for the Program: Large and Small Group Conversations

Having scoped out the focus for the series and chosen a subject and name for the big event,
serious planning for the community conversation could now go into full swing. This
typically involves presenting some kind of information to establish the context for the
conversation.

Steps Action(s)
Large Group Large group events provide the opportunity to present
information to a number of community members. A limitation is
that they are a relatively passive experience for the attendees.
They may appreciate the information, but it doesn’t engage them
on a personal level. They often wonder why someone doesn’t
take action. Having a facilitated conversation with the group, as
opposed to a Q&A period, helps to make the experience more
personal, especially if participants are asked to share from their
own life experience, rather than arguing a position.
Small Group Break- Breaking into small group conversation makes an event much
Out Sessions more logistically challenging, but we were committed to a more
personal experience for these conversations on race. So we
chose to break out into small groups of ten to 15 participants
after the presentation. Trained facilitators supported the
participants’ personal experience of race, prompted by questions
for discussion. These sessions engaged participants in a way that
couldn’t happen in the larger group.
Large and Small While this is a significant logistics challenge (time, spaces,
Groups in facilitators, etc.) we were committed to this format. It allows us
Combination both the sharing of information and/or background experience in
the larger group and the personal engagement of the smaller
group.

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