The “Reluctant Participant”……
As we know, our DPP participants bring so much to our programs! At the same time, we recognize the variety of personalities that make up our wonderful groups. The question then becomes, “How do we respect the personalities of each participant and at the same time create an environment which encourages everyone to share their ideas?” This can also be challenging in a virtual environment where it is a bit more tempting to “disengage”!
So many tools to address this…..
**Ground rules: everyone’s voices are welcomed and respected. For the virtual class, ask participants to keep cameras on, if possible. Gather more ideas from your participants!
**Small group work: taking 5-10 minutes to work on a topic, then coming together as a large group to share ideas.
**“Write it down“: distributing small pieces of paper as folks arrive, asking each to anonymously answer “a question”, then…. collecting and sharing of those ideas! Share after collected!
**Group Brain Storm: challenge the large group to fire off as many ideas to a question within 5 min…make a list….share at the end.
**Facilitator: “body language” awareness: walking away from those who’ve shared “a lot”, and towards the “quieter” participants. Simply ask: “Who’d like to add to this conversation from this side of the room?”
Above all, we as facilitators want to create a safe, welcoming, respectful environment! Use those active listening skills—affirmations and reflections, demonstrating to participants that they are valued and “listened to”!!
Want more? Dig into the many NDPP resources on the State of Wellness Resources Page--especially, the State of Wellness Virtual DPP Tips and Resources!.
And don’t overlook our monthly State of Wellness DPP Coach Chat! Last Wednesday of every month, 2-3pm EASTERN. Contact laurie@stateofwellness for login details!
What are your thoughts…how have you encouraged the “quiet participant” in your DPP?