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Briefing the chair/speakers

Conveying information to the speakers and chair is a vital process that can ensure the success or failure of your event. Speakers may not have experienced a dialogue event before, and it is likely to be very different to the traditional panel debate format. By providing a briefing document you can easily ensure that all speakers have the same information, and that they have advice on how to deal with the unusual situation of a dialogue event.

event details

  • Event title
  • Date and time
  • Location
  • Outline of event content

2.1 Target Audience

Who do you expect to attend this event?

3 Event Structure

This section can be taken from the Objectives Document. It should provide detailed information on the structure of the evening.

about dialogue events

aim

Speakers may not be familiar with dialogue events. This is a good time to convey what you mean by dialogue. For example:

  • We would like the participants (invited guests and audience) to engage in structured, relevant dialogue at these events. We do not want the events to be just question and answer sessions, nor do we want to the events to be dominated by purely emotional responses/outbursts.
  • We want dialogue to occur between the invited guests and the audience. We do not want dialogue to occur solely amongst the invited guests.
  • We are not looking for a yes / no answer during this event. Instead it is an exploration of the issues concerned.

role of speakers/chair

Now your speakers/chair know about dialogue events, but it is another matter to put this into practice! This section gives advice on how speakers can help to foster dialogue, and what they should avoid. Below is sample text from our events:

Speakers / chair should aim to:

  • Provide access to relevant information, explanations and opinion as required.
  • Feel that they can freely join in the debate in order to stimulate further debate.

Speakers / chair should endeavor not to:

  • Take the debate away from the audience by monopolizing the discussion.
  • Use the discussion as a platform for individual debate with other speakers.
  • Use jargon and terminology that might be misunderstood, or misinterpreted by the audience.

general guidelines for dialogue

The chair's role is to ensure that all participants abide by the following guidelines:

  • All participants will abide by the decisions of the chair.
  • All participants are equal, whether invited speaker or guest.
  • All points of view matter and will be treated with respect by other members of the group.
  • No group member will use inappropriate, threatening or offensive language.
  • If they do they may be removed from the event.
  • No group member will use threatening or violent behaviour. If they do they may be removed from the event.

prompts for discussion

At times, it may be necessary to actively encourage discussion at this event. The following tips will help you if this occurs!

  • Create an impromptu vote within the audience.
  • It is easier for people to talk about their emotions than it is for them to state opinions. If necessary, ask group members:
    • How does that make you feel?
    • What would you think if it was your child that needed the medication?
    • What word would you use to describes your reaction to that?
  • Try to ensure that any questions you ask are open questions. These should have neither a yes / no answer nor a discreet set of answers.

maintaining balance

If a member of the audience is dominating the event, try and extend debate away from then. This can be done in a number of ways e.g.

  • Give this person a platform with a set amount of time to speak with the understanding that after that time period you won't be consulting them again.
  • Shut down this avenue of argument by saying that you would like to pick up on another aspect of the issue.
  • Ask the rest of the audience whether they would like to pursue this particular area of debate.
  • Invite other members of the audience to comment on what is being said.

Be aware of any camps of opinion emerging (e.g. presence of single issue groups). You may want to steer questions/comments away from these camps if they begin to dominate an event.

Try to attain a balance between speaker's contributions and group's contributions. This can be done by:

  • Asking the group to comment on the main/important/contentious points raised.
  • Preventing the speakers having prolonged discussions with a particular group member - try to get everybody else to comment on what is being said.

speakers/chair

A list of speakers / chair names and roles.

further information

(If appropriate)