The Discussion Book

The Discussion Book

by Stephen D. Brookfield, Stephen Preskill
Released January 2016
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9781119049715

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Book description

Build teams, make better decisions, energize groups, and think out of the box

Do you need a resource that you can pull out of your pocket to liven up meetings, trainings, professional development, and teaching? The fifty easily applied techniques in this timely manual spur creativity, stimulate energy, keep groups focused, and increase participation. Whether you're teaching classes, facilitating employee training, leading organizational or community meetings, furthering staff and professional development, guiding town halls, or working with congregations, The Discussion Book is your go-to guide for improving any group process.

Each of the concrete techniques and exercises is clearly described with guidance on selection and implementation, as well as advice on which pitfalls to avoid. All of the techniques:

  • Offer new ways to engage people and energize groups
  • Get employees, students, colleagues, constituents, and community members to participate more fully in deliberative decision-making
  • Encourage creativity and openness to new perspectives
  • Increase collaboration and build cohesive teams
  • Keep groups focused on important topics and hard-to-address issues

Derived from the authors' decades of experience using these exercises with schools, colleges, corporations, the military, social movements, health care organizations, prisons, unions, non-profits, and elsewhere, The Discussion Book will help you guide discussions that matter.

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright
  3. Preface
    1. Audience
    2. Overview of Contents
    3. Website
  4. User Guide
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. The Authors
  7. Introduction
    1. The Zen of Protocols—You Have to Plan for Spontaneity
    2. Spicing It Up—An Energetic Blend
    3. Modeling Your Commitment—Walking the Talk
    4. To the Techniques!
  8. Chapter 1: Circle of Voices
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to this Technique
  9. Chapter 2: Chalk Talk
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Most Suited to This Technique
  10. Chapter 3: Circular Response
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  11. Chapter 4: Newsprint Dialogue
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  12. Chapter 5: Today's Meet
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  13. Chapter 6: Giving Appreciation: The Appreciative Pause–Sticky Note Plaudit
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works—Appreciative Pause
    3. How It Works—Sticky Note Plaudit
    4. Where and When It Works Well
    5. What Users Appreciate
    6. What to Watch Out For
    7. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  14. Chapter 7: Rotating Stations
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When This Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  15. Chapter 8: Snowballing
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  16. Chapter 9: Conversational Moves
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  17. Chapter 10: Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ)
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  18. Chapter 11: Strategic Questioning
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  19. Chapter 12: Open-ended Questions
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  20. Chapter 13: Nominating Questions
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  21. Chapter 14: If You Could Only Ask One Question
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  22. Chapter 15: On-the-Spot Questions and Topics
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  23. Chapter 16: What Do You Think?
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  24. Chapter 17: Clearness Committee
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  25. Chapter 18: Team Modeling
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  26. Chapter 19: Question Brainstorm
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  27. Chapter 20: Narrative Listening and Questioning
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  28. Chapter 21: Participation Rubric
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  29. Chapter 22: Critical Conversation Protocol
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  30. Chapter 23: What Are You Hearing?
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  31. Chapter 24: Understanding Check
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  32. Chapter 25: Stand Where You Stand
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  33. Chapter 26: Think-Pair-Share
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  34. Chapter 27: Drawing Discussion
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  35. Chapter 28: Musicalizing Discussion
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  36. Chapter 29: Structured Silence
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  37. Chapter 30: Writing Discussion
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  38. Chapter 31: Quick Writes
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  39. Chapter 32: Cocktail Party
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  40. Chapter 33: Bohmian Dialogue
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  41. Chapter 34: Methodological Belief
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  42. Chapter 35: Justifiable Pressure
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It's Worked Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit These Protocols
  43. Chapter 36: Hatful of Quotes
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. When and Where It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  44. Chapter 37: Quotes to Affirm and Challenge
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. When and Where It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  45. Chapter 38: Jigsaw
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  46. Chapter 39: Titling the Text
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  47. Chapter 40: Critical Debate
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. When and Where It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  48. Chapter 41: Single Word Sum-Ups
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  49. Chapter 42: Setting Ground Rules
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  50. Chapter 43: Canvassing for Common Ground
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  51. Chapter 44: Dramatizing Discussion
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  52. Chapter 45: Deliberative Polling
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  53. Chapter 46: Participatory Decision Making
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. An Abridged Version
    4. Where and When It Works Well
    5. What Users Appreciate
    6. What to Watch Out For
    7. Questions that Fit this Protocol
  54. Chapter 47: Mutual Invitation
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Technique
  55. Chapter 48: The Three-Person Rule
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions Suited to This Activity
  56. Chapter 49: Conversational Roles
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. Where and When It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Suit This Protocol
  57. Chapter 50: Facilitator Summary
    1. Purposes
    2. How It Works
    3. When and Where It Works Well
    4. What Users Appreciate
    5. What to Watch Out For
    6. Questions That Fit This Protocol
  58. Bibliography
  59. Index
  60. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The Discussion Book
  • Author(s): Stephen D. Brookfield, Stephen Preskill
  • Release date: January 2016
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9781119049715