How to lead
A Discussion
Book Clubs: How to Lead Book Discussions
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okay today we're gonna talk about group
discussion and our topic is leader tips
now there's a lot of things that a
leader needs to do we can't go over all
of them in this short little segment
rules is talked about in another will be
talked about in another one and
preparing to lead a discussion group
that's we're not going to talk about
that today we're going to talk about
what the leader can do when they're
actually in the discussion environment
now preparing for the discussion we the
leader needs at all times to be an
example go through our reading skills
and use them encourage the people in
your group to use them your discussion
will be a direct reflection of your
preparation beforehand and the quality
of the books that you choose so if the
leader creates the group in a way that
they should and if they are an example
of of the reading skills of reading
properly and an example of discussing
properly then that will set the tone for
everybody else the first time I ever
really put together a formal book group
and let it the very first meeting we
ever had I I got everyone together and I
told them about the books that I was
reading and what a blast I was having
and that I had learned some reading
skills and I was shocked at the response
everybody was so excited about this just
the fact that I was reading and I was
having a great experience that I was
learning all kinds of cool stuff made
them want to and they actually you know
some of them got out a piece of paper
will tell me some of the reading skills
that you've learned that I can use and
that book group grew and grew and grew
and was a great experience so um you
want to be an example of everything you
teach you want to be an example of being
picky about the books that you choose
which we talked about in choosing a book
and be an example of the reading skills
of preparing well before you get to the
group there's a few other things you can
do during discussion that will be
beneficial now we're assuming today that
we're in the discussion itself and
you've already prepared by creating
being clear about purposes and criteria
for the books that you're choosing and
using other discussion the the some of
the purposes of discussion and that the
reasons for discussion that kind of
thing as you get into the book group
these are some practical tips for it
when you're in the book group itself
what you can do these apply in a family
setting they apply with you they apply
with adults the discussion will go
better if again you're an example you're
on fire you're excited you're ready to
go the second thing that you want to do
when you begin the discussion is you
have a five-minute intro now of course
five minutes is a loose number it could
be two or three it doesn't you don't
want it to be more than eight or ten and
what this is is this can be almost
anything but it must be okay must be
inspirational if you don't want to start
the group with a downer okay it's got to
be something exciting positive opps been
optimistic inspirational it could be
something you learned in your research
about the book or the author it could be
some of the reading skills you're
practicing and what a great experience
you're having it could be something that
you learn in the book that you've
already applied and had a great
experience that way it could be it could
be something you've learned recently
that kind of applies to what you're
going to discuss that night there's
there's there's a lot of a lot of
options here but what you
ask yourself is how can I get us started
right okay how can I open the discussion
in a way that everybody's going to be
excited and on fire
and so that's what you want to do you
want to get the discussion off to a good
start what this does is kind of it gets
sets the mood right like maybe we've
been eating maybe we've been socializing
maybe we've been catching up with
friends but now it's time to discuss so
we're kind of in our circle or around
the table or whatever we are or we're
sitting on couches at home with our kids
and it's time to kind of start thinking
this gets mental juices flowing right
like it gets everybody on the same page
thinking about some things you might
want to you might want to tie this intro
into a theme like you might have already
chosen a theme for that evening or there
might be a specific theme you want to
bring out to begin the discussion and so
the inspirational thought has something
to do with love or courage or parenting
or endurance or whatever it is so that's
what that first five minutes
introduction needs to be and it gets
everybody thinking then you're gonna
start the discussion with a great
question asked a great question okay now
we teach the five types of questions in
the reading skills maybe it's as a
reading skill and so knowing those five
types of questions will allow you to
write better questions and then you can
go through your questions and decide
which is a really great one to start off
but that's why I said maybe you want to
focus on a theme because then you can
get the discussion going at a good rate
based on one of your really great
questions so go through those five types
of questions regularly make sure you
note them in your book we talked about
we'll talk about that with the writing
tips
I mean book marking tips but you want to
start the discussion off with a great
question and then guess what you want to
do after you ask this incredible light
ahead it doesn't have to be the best
question there otherwise it just needs
to be a question that is what open and
okay no leading group leaders don't lead
your groups ask open-ended questions
I'm telling you refer often to the five
types of questions it will keep you it
will keep you from asking there are only
probably it's only knowledge questions
that can even be closed-ended and you
can still ask knowledge questions in a
way that are open-ended do not lead in
your question that you ask and questions
that you ask later on of course you'll
be an example of writing the five types
of questions you'll encourage the people
in your group or teach to your family or
a youth group of over it is you'll teach
them the five types of questions have
them come to the blog and learn them
here and you'll encourage them to write
questions because of course discussion
goes well when everybody is comes
prepared with questions that's part of
preparing to discuss so um you'll ask an
open-ended question that you do not have
a right answer to in the back of your
mind and then you're going to wait
please wait if you are not willing to
wait right there wait if you're not
willing to wait everybody's gonna know
in the future that they don't have to
think because you're gonna start the
discussion with a question and then here
gonna answer your own question you
cannot use a discussion forum to put
yourself on a soapbox it doesn't matter
who the audience is it doesn't matter if
it's one child if it's your spouse if
it's your boss or your coworker it does
not matter who it is if you ask a
leading closed-ended question and you're
looking for the right answer that is
permission for everybody to stop
thinking okay so if you want a great
discussion you had better be willing to
wait and let everybody know that you're
willing to wait
you wait maybe you need to ask the
question a second time maybe you need to
ask it in a new way but you will ask a
question that's quality because you've
taken the time to think about it it may
be it ties into things that you've
discussed in the past again it could tie
into this five minute intro but you let
everybody you've had time to think about
it the group has not okay so you're
gonna let them just kind of think over
that question and then somebody's gonna
give an answer now this is a very
important discussion leading tip when
people answer the first time that's
their off-the-cuff initial answer okay
if you really want thinking to happen
then you ask the next question which is
almost always why so you're gonna ask
the next question so okay let's think of
one maybe I open maybe I'm doing Pride
and Prejudice for example and maybe
we've kind of been talking maybe it's a
group of moms we've kind of been talking
about parenting on and off in marriage
and those kinds of things and maybe I
found this incredible quote from another
Jane Austen book or something wonderful
about her as a mother or I guess she
wasn't she died when she was pregnant
but anyway maybe you say something
wonderful from another author or
something
that introduces this idea of this theme
and then you ask a question like what
are some things that mr. Bennett did
that were detrimental to his family okay
so everyone's gonna think for a minute
they would say well he ignored his kids
he didn't really train and teach them
you know right he talked really
negatively about his wife right so you
get all those things out that would be
kind of a principle based question which
is one of the five you're kind of
searching for the principles in this
instance that he's breaking
causing damage in his home so then
everybody has answered this question you
follow you then you ask the next
question and when you ask the next
question
this is when thinking really begins why
were those things detrimental to his
family and you wait again and you do not
answer your own questions and you do not
lead and you do not answer every other
question that gets asked now from that
point on you can proceed in a lot of
different ways you can't have taught
everybody the five types of questions
and tell them to come prepared to ask
one and then you could go in a circle
what question did you bring marry what
question did you bring Shauna you know I
don't know mm-hmm
go a circle and let everybody ask a
question I've done that a lot it works
really really well um you could you
could ask who has a question to ask
I let them ask a question you could go
by theme you could say now our theme for
this month is this let's talk about all
of this you know let's talk about
courage in the book let's talk about
love in the book and then just let
everybody go and discuss but having
everybody prepared with questions is by
far hands down the easiest way to run a
great discussion and if it creates the
best discussion when you've chosen the
right kind of reading throughout the
discussion you'll continue to you'll
continue to enforce the rules okay
you know in a loving way right someone's
got to be there owning the discussion
making sure that the rules and the
boundaries that have been set are
honored okay that's in another
discussion tip video is is discussion
group rules and so go over those make
sure you're clear on those make sure you
go over them with your group on a
regular basis so that someone is there
saying you know time or just a handful
of things that you that you do to make
the disc
stay quality and then the last thing
you're going to do is a five-minute
ending okay so you've got you've got
your in so you've got your your an
example right you got your intro then
you've got your great question and then
your next follow-up question and then
your ending that's the basic structure
like that's the skeleton of leading a
good discussion is that you're following
along you're you know whatever the
criteria is for how your rules are going
to work and there's different ways that
you can engage everyone a discussion but
if you're using reading skills and
you're encouraging maybe you maybe your
group learns a reading skill every month
and practices it and you talk about it
you talk about the reading skill and how
it went there's all kinds of ways to
engage everyone in discussion themes is
huge all that kind of stuff that's
that's again for another another tip but
this is the skeleton of a great
discussion this ending same criteria
inspirational let every have a time
honor the time and the time and let
everybody leave with something really
great really positive and and and happy
or uplifting or something to really
ponder or a question that was hanging in
the air and no one can answer and
everybody's gonna go home and think
about that some more remember we succeed
in our discussions when we inspire
people to continue to be self improving
and self educating so that's your that's
your skeleton for a discussion implement
them and I promise you'll have you'll
see improved experiences in your
discussion groups see you next time
