You were mandated to lead a discussion group in your team, and you are worried because it will be your first time or perhaps, you are not just good at it.

I understand exactly how you feel. It could be incredibly confounding if you have no experience in leading a discussion group. In the same vein, it is not as simple as waving a magic wand and commanding the participants to start discussing. However, once you understand the best way to approach the subject for discussion and manage audience participation, you are ready to go.

Before you walk into that room to facilitate that group discussion, there are things you need to know about leading a discussion group. I have taken the pain to explain all you need to know in this article to save you the stress and to prepare you for the task ahead.

Here are the ten things you need to know about leading a discussion group.

1. The group discussion is not about you

It is very important that before you walk in to lead a discussion group, you should learn everything you can about the subject to prepare for the task ahead. However, despite what you learn or know about the topic, you must keep in mind that it is not about you. Yes, know all you can about the subject to be able to facilitate conversation, not overshadow every other person. When you keep talking and fail to engage others effectively, they shrink into their shells and refrain from contributing. Or worse, you cause them to resent you for depriving them of the opportunity to contribute.

You need to keep it in mind that humans can be very sentimental about the things they know, and depriving the participants contribute to a discussion can stir resentment. Allow the participants to participate in the conversation fully. Your role is to lead them towards the conversation and allow them to participate while you take notes.

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2. Establish all ground rules

Where there are rules of engagement for the group discussion, ensure to establish them from the beginning. Ground rules could cover everything from interruptions to the organization of ideas and opinions. Set the ground rules from the beginning.

3. Accept all ideas before critically analyzing them

Many times, we are fond of discarding the contributions or opinions of others, simply because they do not seem right to us. Discarding the ideas of your participants right off the bat will force them to keep to themselves, discouraging them from participating. People do not like to be hushed, especially when they are sharing an idea they have considered interesting.

The best way to handle unsuitable ideas is to consider them critically after everyone has shared theirs, and constructively portray the flaws in the ideas one after the other, without disregarding the idea or the participant who proposed it. By showing your participants that their ideas are valuable and could be functional, given different conditions, you open them up, and you give them the confidence to engage more in the conversation/discussion.

4. Use tools that improve participation

Visual aids like sticky notes, flip charts, or whiteboards do well in improving Participation. They can be used to visually categorize all the ideas shared, giving the participants a visual of the entire process.

Many people often consider that slides are better for group discussions, but there is a downside to using slides. This downside is the obvious fact that slides feel permanent, and this feeling of permanence may force people to keep their ideas to themselves.

5. Keep an open mind

As a leader of the discussion group, it is possible to start feeling more capable or knowledgeable on the subject. And this feeling can result in an overbearing that will affect the Participation of the other members of the discussion group. To be able to lead a discussion group effectively, you must come with an open mind and be curious enough about what the other participants have to share on the subject. It even helps to allow the participants to share their ideas first before sharing yours. Sometimes when your idea comes first, some participants may take it as a final say, which could affect the creative freedom of participants.

6. Reiterate and summarize the points at intervals

Between participants, ensure to reiterate and restate the points that have been made or raised by other participants for emphasis and to ensure that everyone is aware of them. If you are using a whiteboard or stick notes, always note the points of the participants and call attention to those points. So, after participant A and participant B have shared their ideas, reiterate and summarize those ideas before moving on to participant C. This helps reinforce those ideas.

7. Establish consensus

As conversations progress, emotions can progress with them, and this could result to indecorum if not properly checked. At this point, participants could begin to take sides and form positions against each other, defeating the purpose of the group discussion. As the leader of the discussion group, ensure not to take sides. Also, make sure to diffuse all disagreements before they escalate.

8. Maintain a schedule

Every successful discussion group runs on a schedule. To ensure that everything is done and in due time, it is important to create a schedule to guide the discussion and make it known to the participants before the discussion. This schedule should be followed strictly to the letter.  It helps for clarity accountability of time.

9. Acknowledge the opinion and idea of every participant

Every time someone in the group offers an idea or opinion, ensure to acknowledge that idea or opinion and note it. Commending people for the ideas they share in a discussion can help shore up their confidence and encourage them to share more ideas during the discussion.

Group discussions can be very tricky to handle because every participating member is entirely different from the next. Take note of their differences by creating an environment that accommodates everybody.