Making COVID Discussions Interesting

I am sick and tired of hearing about COVID-19, and I’m sure you are as well. So that’s why I’m here to talk to you about COVID-19. A few classmates and I had to facilitate a group discussion on COVID-19 and what sort of effect it’s had on restaurants. Because I’ve worked in a restaurant for several years, I was curious to see what people had to say and how we could get honest answers from them.

Before our discussion, we had a group before ours discuss shopping and how it was impacted by the pandemic. The discussions were totally fine, but they didn’t seem as engaging, and not all of the students participated in the discussions. It might have been a communication issue, or maybe the students were uninterested. Either way, it’s important to have as many people participating in your discussion as possible in order to get a variety of responses.

One way we found success was using humour. During our group’s debrief, our professor teacher praised for our sense of humour to and how we used it to entice engagement. Obviously it goes without saying, but know your audience when trying to be funny. Saying something to your classmates or friends who are in their early to mid 20s is fine. The same sort of humour probably won’t hit as well with an older audience. You want to be funny enough to attract interest, but not too funny where the discussion goes off the rails. Also, COVID-19 is a serious topic, so be careful about the types of jokes you make. A lot of people have been severely impacted by the virus, so it’s important to keep a level of professionalism and sensitivity to this sort of subject.

It also helps to acknowledge the responses of participants in a meaningful way. Having your comments acknowledged by someone can be exciting, so do that with others to make them feel like their participation means something more. We were able to get multiple responses from participants by doing this. This is also very important when talking about more serious topics. There would be an awkwardness in the air if someone gave a more personal response to your question, and then you in turn gave them a very generic response.

It may be easy to ask one question, but it will not necessarily give you the engagement you’re looking for. Instead, ask an open-ended question. These types of questions can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” They require the respondent to think critically about how they feel. It’s also very useful to have follow up questions ready. This can keep the discussion moving along by having people elaborate further on their responses and in turn, giving you more information to work with.

All this being said, I would like to potentially try this sort of facilitation in person to see how differently it would play out. Being online has it’s pro’s and cons.

PROS

• It takes very little time to respond to a comment online as you are able to engage in discussion when it is most convenient for you

• Gives you more time to reflect on questions and answers before responding

CONS

• Participants may wait until the last minute and rush their responses

• Some people may be more engaged in an in-person setting than they are online

Much like in-person discussions, online discussions should be visual, amusing, and mindful of participants. Follow these points and your next discussion will be far more engaging.