Tips for Preparing for and Leading a Discussion

Good teaching requires courage the courage to expose ones ignorance

as well as insight, to invite contradiction as well as consent, to yield some
control in order to empower the group, to evoke other peoples lives as well
as reveal ones own. Parker J. Palmer
Your primary role as the discussion leader is to get your team talking about
why and how certain Harvard ManageMentor concepts apply to your team.
As the discussion leader, your task is not so much to teach participants as it
is to encourage learning through the sharing of experiences, challenges,
questions, and points of view. You will likely find that you are also a member
of the learning group, since leaders often learn as much from their team as
the team learns from them. The following tips are intended to help you
prepare for this unique role.

Tips for preparing for the discussion

1. Review the topic and guide: To prepare for the discussion, review the
Harvard ManageMentor topic and the accompanying discussion guide.
The discussion guide offers questions for leading the discussion and
responses to look for during the discussion.
2. Reflect on your audience and customize: Consider tailoring the
questions in the guide to meet any specific preferences or challenges of
your team.
3. Consider pairing up: Consider pairing up with a peer manager to colead the discussion for your combined teams. This can make leading the
discussion somewhat easier, and each team can benefit from insights and
questions from the other team.
4. Sharpen your perspective: Prior to the discussion, reflect on your own
perspectives regarding the concepts to be discussed. Although youll be
encouraging participants to share their perspectives during the
discussion, you can lead by providing insight into the importance and
effectiveness of certain ideas and how the ideas apply to your team.
5. Identify relevant stories and examples: Sharing examples or stories
from your experience during the discussion can be very powerful. They
are very memorable and can bring audiences closer to the reality of how
certain concepts apply to them. Consider preparing a story or two ahead
of time that draws a connection between the discussion topics and your
experiences.
6. Identify the time and location for the discussion: Select an
appropriate meeting time and location, and confirm availability of space
and any needed equipment. Consider holding a discussion during a
portion of a team meeting or even over lunch. Also, please note that
although PowerPoint slides are provided for your use during the
discussion, the slides are not required. Many leaders find having an
Copyright 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.

Tips for Preparing for and Leading a Discussion

informal conversation with their team around a conference table with no
slides can be an effective way to discuss the concepts.
7. Tailor your invitation: You can tailor the accompanying sample e-mail
text as needed to fit your situation.

Copyright 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.

Tips for Preparing for and Leading a Discussion

Tips for leading the discussion
When leading the discussion, you will likely leverage a combination of
probing questions, effective listening techniques, and encouraging responses
to stimulate and guide the discussion.
Questioning:

Use the questions in the discussion guide, as well as any of your own
design, to lead the discussion. The questions invite different perspectives,
encourage analysis, and help participants think about how the concepts
apply to their situation.
Ensure that participants do more talking than you do. Remember that the
best learning occurs when the participants are involved in dialogue and
are allowed to reach their own conclusions.
If your team seems stuck on a question, summarize the groups opinion(s)
and move on to the next question in the guide.
To stimulate discussion or steer the conversation to certain key points,
consider using a variety of the following questioning techniques during
the discussion:
o To encourage more analysis, ask: Why? Could you say a little
more about that? Why is that important?
o To open the discussion up to others, ask: Any reactions? Do
others agree? Can anyone address [participants] concern?
o To make connections, ask: What has been your experience?
Why is this important? How might this apply to your situation?

Listening:

Questioning and listening to team members encourages them to learn.

Listening is not a passive activity. Demonstrate good body language for
listening by making eye contact and facing the person who is speaking.
You can also demonstrate that you are listening by reflecting back what
people say. You can paraphrase and say What I hear you saying is ...
Encourage participants to listen closely to each other as well.

Responding:

As the discussion leader, you have the unique opportunity to respond to

participant questions and responses, as well offer your own insights,
examples, and stories. Your responses can provide feedback, direct the
flow of the discussion, and influence the energy level of the room.
Acknowledge each participants contribution in some way, whether
through a simple verbal acknowledgment, a restating of the main point,
and/or the recording of the comment on an easel chart or whiteboard.
Share your stories and examples. Stories are very memorable and can
bring audiences closer to the reality of how certain concepts apply to
them.

Copyright 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.

Tips for Preparing for and Leading a Discussion

What unfolds during the discussion will likely vary somewhat from what
appears in the discussion guide. Dont be afraid to let the discussion go
where the participants energy and interest lead you, but make an effort
to allocate time to discuss important topics.

Tips for concluding the discussion

When concluding the discussion, encourage participants to reflect on what

they will do differently as a result of the discussion. Also, use the
suggestions in the Next Steps section of the guide to focus their efforts on
applying new ideas and approaches on the job.
Invite participants to summarize learning points and themes from the
discussion.
Be sure to thank everyone for their willingness to attend and actively
participate.
Consider scheduling a follow-on meeting to continue the discussion or to
check in with everyone regarding their progress in applying new ideas and
approaches on the job.
Get feedback on the discussion. For example, ask the group in person or
via email regarding what they valued most, and what they would suggest
doing differently next time.

Copyright 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.