Discussion - Mastering the Skills of Moderation E-Book

Horst Hanisch

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Serie: Rhetorik, Präsentation, Persönlichkeit /englisch)
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 129

Beschreibung

Leading Discussions, Conducting Surveys, Steering Roundtables and Using Manipulation. This book focuses on the subjects of moderation, discussion-rounds, surveys, round tables and different forms of dialogs. It demonstrates how to lead a conversation properly, how to avoid manipulation and how to reach a target-oriented outcome. Among others, the content includes the following subjects. The first decisive impression. Interpersonal communication. What language tells us. From monolog, over dialog to a group conversation. Group dynamics in group conversation. Moderating a conversation round, surveys and interviews. Reciprocal interdependence and influence. Manipulation through statistics.

Leseprobe

Fore-word

“I welcome you ...”

Don’t be afraid of perfection. You will never reach it

Salvador Dali, Spanish painter

(1904 - 1989)

“... to our discussion roundtable today.”

We talk with each other and we talk to each other. We speak, discuss, carry on, and communicate, etc. Do we listen to each other as well? “Of course,” we may say “I am also listening to the other person. Otherwise I wouldn’t know how to respond to him.” It seems like listening is an elementary part of communication. In a broader sense we tacitly expect that communication eventually is a goal.

This book considers discussion situations and different kinds of dialogue. Generally, it is assumed that people get together in order to exchange their views. They also want to present their own opinion – and – in a positive sense, to listen what others have to say.

It is some people’s goal to impart as much of their own opinions as possible in a conversation and they are not considerate of other opinions or ideas. The people who have the largest contribution to a conversation can’t necessarily say that their own ideas are the best ones. It is possible that a quieter person who does want not strongly articulate his opinion actually has brilliant views and contributes greatly to a conversation.

In order to temper the vocal participants and support the passive ones, very often a moderator is used. This person has a few very important duties and responsibilities in a serious discussion. In the following pages we will look into these details, primarily using one moderator.

This person is attuned to not only the spoken words but also everything else around the discussion. Albert Mehrabian’s research indicated that only 7 % of information is transmitted by spoken words. The other 93 % is transmitted based on how the words are spoken as well as the body language. Experienced moderators consider this knowledge. They will set the room conditions to achieve the objective of the discussion and use an arrangement that shows respect for each person, relative to their social standing.

While the book by this author “Body Language: Unlocking the Secrets”, focuses on nonverbal communication, and the book “Rhetoric – Mastering the Art of Persuasion”, primarily focuses on the spoken word, and this book focuses on how to communicate in a group discussion.

The subject is primarily interpersonal in nature, and therefore, we apologize to the reader if we go in more detail in certain areas and if it gives the impression that something might seem to be subjective.

In order to be as objective as possible I have – in my freedom as the author and as a human being - access to other people’s experience and knowledge. Therefore I will use this opportunity to say “THANK YOU!” to everybody who supported me physically and psychological in this project. There are my students who gave me inspirations through the realization of different group discussions, as well as my father Alfred Hanisch, who supported me as lector and mentor, and my friend Kurt Sturm, who let me work on this project without having too much stress by taking care of all the daily work and duties. I also do not forget all the other people and friends who gave me small but important and precious suggestions and help.

I wish you, dear reader, lots of fun reading this book and hopefully it is a help for practical implementation, so you can use it for a more successful private and business life!

Horst Hanisch

Table Of Contents

Chapter 1 – Reciprocal Interdependency and Influence

What A says and B understands

When I judge my brother, I can be mistaken, if I forgive him, then not.

Karl Heinrich Waggerl, Austrian writer

(1897 - 1973)

Constantly reciprocal influence

In a dialogue or a conversation all participates influence each other. They also influence the moderator, and the moderator always influences the participants. Therefore it makes sense to obtain information about the participants of a discussion group beforehand. This is especially important if you have the responsibility to control and lead the conversation round, i.e., you are the moderator.

Tone of the moderator

The tone of the moderator towards the participants significantly influences the development of a discussion. If the tone seems to be presumptuous, arrogant, anxious, obedient, etc, the participants will react towards this type of behavior. The correct tone is to be ‘self-confident’ and ‘equal’ towards all participants. It does not matter if the participant is unemployed or a university professor – for the moderator everybody should have an ‘equal value’.

Who are the listeners?

Think about, or ask your client in advance, which target group can be expected. For example:

Pupils

Trainees

Vocational pupils

Students

Homemakers

Employees

Supervisors

Managers

Self-employed

Pensioners

Unemployed

Women

Men

Foreigners

Physically disabled

Self-payers (seminar fee)

Invitees

Family

Friends

Tradesmen/women

Academics

Nobles

Socially disadvantaged persons

People with a strong social background

and others

A speech can be fine-tuned to address each target group in a slightly different way, for example by paying close attention to choice of words or approach – while bearing in mind our statement above that every group is of equal value.

Interdependency among each other

‘As the question, so the answer!’

But what is meant by that?

Some moderators make the mistake of dealing with their participants ‘just’ as a serial number, i.e., as an exchangeable item.

Therein lies a great risk. The participant may be sensitive. He feels exactly how somebody is dealing with him. He will act towards the moderator the same way. If the moderator sees the participant ‘just as a trainee’, then participant will see the moderator ‘just as a smart aleck’.

That does not appear to be a solid foundation for a good co-operation. Therefore an appeal to all moderators and conversation-leaders:

“See your participants as interesting individuals who invest their energy to spend a short part of their life with you in order to take home some new knowledge at the end of the conversation.”

The audience’s needs

Every person has needs – including your counterparties in conversations. According to the U.S. psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-1970), human beings have the following needs (simplified description):

Human beings have motives and needs. Through fulfillment of their needs, humans become motivated. According to Maslow, motivation has a hierarchical character.

Only when the fundamental needs are fulfilled, can one of the next higher needs come into focus.

The needs are ordered in 5 levels, one on top of the other. Each lower level need has to be fulfilled before the next, higher-level need, can be addressed.

1st Level: physical needs / physiological needs

This include: food, drink, sleep, motion, self-preservation, sexuality, warmth.

2nd Level: security needs

This include: physical security, security of minimum sustenance, general protection, retirement arrangements, insurance, need to live in stability, love or sympathy in terms of feeling secure.

3rd Level: love needs, social needs

This include: affiliation to a social group or society, circle of friends, acquaintanceships, love or sympathy in terms of attention, social clubs or associations.

4th Level: appreciation needs, self-orientation needs

This include: needs for one’s self, recognition though other people, status, power, respect from other people, self-respect, self-confidence, craving for recognition.

5th level: need for self-actualization

This include: needs for one’s inner self, room for self-fulfillment, room for self-actualization, privacy, realization of one’s own possibilities.

Here, you possibly find the so-called “flow-effect”: the ability to capture and achieve a state of happiness (according to happyologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi [pronounced: Tschik-zent-mihai]).

Examples for consideration of the needs:

Somebody listening becomes tired and therefore he has the need to get some sleep. Maybe he is also hungry and because of that he needs to eat.

In both cases it will be difficult for the participant to concentrate on the presentation. The needs of the listener are more important than his desire to listen and therefore he will become inattentive. He may even begin to disturb the speaker.

Therefore the speaker should always have the needs of his audience in mind and give the participants sufficiently timed opportunities to satisfy their needs. Here are some concrete examples: adequate planning for breaks, layout/environment of the seminar room (air, light, seating arrangements, etc.), organizational (where are the restrooms, where can people smoke, what are the rules of participation?)

In case you have to speak in front of a large audience, here are some considerations to maintain their attention:

Mass-communication

People who know how to influence the masses have significant power. They have the power to manipulate in a positive as well as in a negative sense. Of course, the audience knows as well how to resist this kind of manipulation.

Masses and the media

The term ‘mass-media’ is well known but not clearly defined. It can include:

newspapers,

magazines,

broadcast,

television,

sound recording medium,

and others.

In terms of masses, we differentiate between medial mass and present mass.

Medial mass include, for example, the television audience; those who watch a TV program are unconnected to each other. Present mass groups are connected to each other and include, for example, the audience attending an open-air-concert. They coexist together.

Therefore, the media builds a bridge between the place of the event and its particular audience.

Influencing a crowd

In order to influence a crowd of people and to capture their interest, the following points can be used:

activate their basic emotions

sympathy, grief

choose what to address (subject matter)

what the majority of the group thinks is right (generally believe or opinion), it is easy to strengthen this

chose a “fellow human” being approach

well-known figure, celebrity

moral bonus

the value of moral points is very high

Crowd behavior

What is the difference in the behavior of a person in his everyday life compared to his behavior in a crowd? In a crowd, the rationality-control of a single person is interfered by the collective instinct-control of a crowd. Therefore, an individual will behave, for example, even in an emergency situation or under psychological pressure, in conformity with the group.

That point makes it relatively easy for mass-media to propagate their own opinion on potentially fruitful ground.

Catch the interest of potential participants

What good is a really interesting topic if no one knows it’s going to be addressed? What good is a persuasive presentation if nobody is there to listen? This is why a topic has to be packaged in a way that arouses the curiosity of potential listeners. For example:

Single Parenthood plus a Full-Time Job – How Do You Manage?

Do You Know Your Rights? – Labour Law for Workers

Living with Adolescents – Crisis or Opportunity?

Making a Good First Impression – The First 7 Seconds Count

The Winner – Strategies for Greater Self-Confidence

Children Need Limits – But Which Ones?

Titles with a question mark?

Which title will probably spark more interest and sounds more authoritative?

‘Women Are More Intelligent’ or ‘Are Women More Intelligent?’

‘Eating Bananas Makes You Slim’ or ‘Does Eating Bananas Make You Slim?’

If the title is already a statement, the presenter has already determined the outcome. This means that, even before the lecture or presentation begins, the listener is faced with a foregone conclusion. This takes all the suspense out of the event. But if the title is instead presented as a question – simply thrown out without yet being proven, then the participants don’t know yet what the answer will be.

Will We Ever Achieve Immortality?

This kind of title is sure to provoke curiosity and/or suspense. The participant’s interest is piqued and he might ask himself:

“Hm, let’s see what the latest scientific findings are.”

“I’d really like to know how that could be.”

“I can’t imagine. Could it really be possible?”

Titles with exclamation points!

‘School Makes You Stupid!’ or ‘Americans Are Too Fat!’

This kind of title is another way of calling attention – provocatively – to the topic. Beware, though, because titles with exclamation points often prompt:

burgeoning aggression

For example in teachers: “They must be crazy to make such a claim.”

For example in fat people: “I’m not going to go there just to be embarrassed.”

or

malicious glee

For example in opponents of the school system: “That’s just what I always say.”

For example in thin people: “Well, they’re certainly not talking about me.”