sociogram: an exercise in which participants arrange their bodies to show something about themselves or to stimulate a new awareness. For example, participants are asked to range themselves along a line that shows how long they've been active with a particular cause. See also "spectrum." Read more...
C. Structure, Themes, and Flow in One-on-One Dialogues
"He [the facilitator] made it really easy, comfortable, we'd just be rolling for long periods of time ..Because she [dialogue partner] opened up and was so frank, then I opened up. The two hours went really fast." --older, seasoned activist
"I really liked [the facilitator's] style. It seemed like a safe haven, cathartic, therapeutic. I have all this experience, and now it's being valued." --older, seasoned activist
"The facilitation was fine, but [you] could have intervened earlier, to keep me from talking on and on in too much detail. It was good when you interrupted." --community-based youth activist
"Talking with you [younger dialogue partner] gives me hope. You are courageous, astute, intelligent. The world needs solutions now; we don't have the luxury of a lot of time. And you give me hope, hope. The laughing was fun. And the silence space, quiet helped me too." --older, seasoned activist
Each of the three facilitators developed their own style in structuring the one-on-one dialogues, and each developed a set of favorite questions, as well. We will go into more depth about each phase of these dialogues in the "tricks" section. What worked best, we can say over and over, was staying present; allowing spaciousness and flow in the dialogue; and checking our own assumptions.
Below is a sample structure that worked well for one facilitator. This structure worked for first-time or one-time only, two-hour one-on-one dialogues:
Opening: Introduce the project: history, rationale, and goals.
Logistics: timing, food/drink, issues of comfort
Process: role of facilitator; confidentiality; permission for notetaking
Overview: facilitator gives a sense of what topics questions will cover
Q & A: any questions participants have about the project, or about the facilitator.
Questions of Activity: (short, 5 10 minutes) These brief questions give activists a chance to understand each other's actions and involvements, at least superficially: if not the why, at least the what. Participants are more comfortable with deep sharing once they feel they have a bit of a "handle" on what the other person does.
Questions of Identity: (long, 20 minutes or more) Personal sharing about family, life stories, class, race, culture, gender, sexuality, and other formative aspects of identity. Usually this includes questions about how each participant "woke up" politically, and the influences on him/her.
Questions of Praxis: (long, the heart of the dialogue: one hour) --Core Values, Vision --Application: Strategy, Tactics, Process --Sustainable Activism
Questions of Curiosity: (variable, short 10-15 minutes) Participants ask questions about each other based on what they've heard.
Questions of Closure: (variable, 10-15 minutes) Facilitator asks each participant questions about how their perceptions of each other and of each other's communities may have shifted. Participants share what surprised, challenged, provoked them to think, or inspired them. Evaluation of the dialogue experience is included in the closure section. Next steps -- second dialogue, upcoming events, networking are shared.
BEFORE YOU ENLIST AND AFTER YOU SAY NO: AFSC's counter-recruitment training manual
By Daniel Hunter and Hannah Strange
Get this 239-page training manual with over eighty handouts, articles, and tools on organizing, strategy, and how to do counter-recruitment. Most of the tools in the workshop can be easily adapted for other movements -- many of which are brand new tools.
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