This is the second part of our post on leading a productive and successful debrief. You can find Part 1 here.

Debrief Stage 2: So What?

After warming up the group and jogging their memories with the What stage, you transition to the So What stage. Basically, you’re asking, “What was significant about some part of the event that we just experienced together?” As the group leader, you should have chosen something you wanted to guide the discussion towards while you were facilitating the program. Have that ready, but also be open to what the group feels was the lesson learned from the event. When you’re ready to move into this stage, you can often refer back to the person in Stage 1 (What) who described the part you want to focus on. Ask him to provide some more details or what he thought was significant about that stage. Another idea is to ask a big-picture question about the idea you want to focus on. This stage takes a deeper level of thought. Participants are thinking abstractly about the problems they encountered, how they dealt with them, and if there were better or more effective ways to have responded.

For example, we often start our programs with a game called Speedball (we’ll be posting a full rundown of the game soon!). In order to succeed at Speedball, participants need to suggest different ways to adapt their approach and reach the goal faster each time. We use that to discuss the role that every single person can play in succeeding, even if their idea wasn’t the last one to be used. When debriefing, you can ask: Who suggested an idea that led to succeeding at Speedball? While people will often point to the last person to suggest an idea, you can push them to realize that every person who suggested something, whether it was an original idea, a critique of another suggestion, or an adaptation of an existing strategy, was needed for the group to succeed.

Positive Feedback

Remember to give positive feedback to those who contribute to the discussion. This is effectively done by restating their ideas to the group and getting their confirmation that you understood and appreciated what they had to say. You may not agree with a statement a participant makes, or feel it will detract from the point you’re trying to make. If you’re confident that the rest of the group agrees with you, ask a respected member of the group how he feels; most of the time, he’ll back you up. Just be careful; if they take the other side, it can detract from the power of your message. However, the beauty of these discussions is that people can express their own opinions and differ from you. If you are confident in your message, it will stand on its merits. Your message will be even stronger if you allow people to disagree with you.

Stage 3: Now What?

After processing the event itself, you are ready to move on to the third stage: Now What? Here, you take the lesson and ask the group how they would apply it to situations that might come up in the future. Ask them to describe a scenario where the idea they just discussed could come in handy. For the Speedball example described above, I’d ask for someone to describe a project where multiple voices could help find a creative solution. This type of open-ended question allows for some interesting answers, and drives home the lesson learned from the game you just played.

When you’re ready, you can wrap up the discussion by restating the idea you discussed. It is powerful for you to say, “What I’m hearing from you is..” This way, you’re not TELLING them YOUR ideas, trying to make them learn lessons from you – they don’t necessarily care about what you have to say! Instead, you’re listening to them and restating THEIR experiences and thoughts, which they care about much more. Going forwards, you can reference the game in other discussions and the group will understand that you’re talking about the lesson you just discussed during the debrief.

Now you know the secret of the debrief. Using this 3-part method, you’re going to help the groups you lead isolate lessons from the things you experience with them and figure out how to apply them to real life. Practice makes perfect, so give it a shot at your next event!

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