Format Ideas

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There have been a variety of requests over the years that presentations be implemented with a more varied set of formats. Typically, presentations have been in a "Presentation/Break/Discussion" format, with each segment largely distinct from the others. A lot of people think this gets repetitive and sometimes feels like a lecture. So, presenters are now encouraged to come up with a new and different format for their presentations, or at least change around the traditional one. Here are some suggestions for ways to change up the formatting:

• Alternate Big Group and Small Group discussions throughout the meeting.
• Mix up small groups part way through the discussion time.
• Consider free-form groups, where people come and go among them at will.
• Consider leaving snacks out the whole time to spur mixing and shifting of groups.
• Try to have many, many questions for discussion. Perhaps give different ones to the various small groups.
• Perhaps add questions in mid-discussion.
• Free up the leader and moderator to go among groups and spur discussion with supplementary questions or comments.
• Start an Argument (Non-Combative!), i.e., address an important topic and get people to argue or debate it.
• Start with a false statement and have people use the subject matter at hand to debunk it.
• Do more of the "turn-to-your-neighbor-and-discuss" type "small groups".
• Perhaps set up a debate format, wherein two or three co-presenters stand on opposing viewpoints.
• "All-Star Ideas" — use good ideas from one group to seed other small groups if discussion dies out.
• Give people information in quick-reference handouts and the briefest of introductions, rather than by presentation. Then have them answer probing questions based on what they can find in small groups, and act as a resource to answer questions.