TIL a simple trick to get quiet people talking in our book club

Our group in Denver had a problem where the same three people did all the talking. Last month, before we discussed 'Project Hail Mary', I tried something new. I texted the quiet members one specific question about the book 24 hours before the meetup. I asked things like 'What did you think of the Rocky character's first scene?' This gave them time to think. At the meeting, four people who never spoke up before shared really good points. Has anyone else found a good way to make sure everyone gets a voice?

3 comments

3 Comments

dakota_nelson4312d ago

Try asking the quiet ones to bring one specific thing to talk about, like a quote they liked or a part that confused them. Giving them a job makes it easier to jump in. Works way better than just saying "any thoughts" to the whole group.

park.abby12d ago

My tenth grade teacher had us pass a talking stick around the circle.

fisher.adam12d ago

That thing about giving them a job to do is smart. What if you also changed the setting for part of the chat? Like, for 15 minutes, have everyone break into pairs just to talk about one question. It's way less scary to share an idea with one person first. Then you can ask the pairs to share what they talked about with the whole group. The quiet person already practiced saying their thought out loud, so it's easier.