Secrets to having an effective Session

#TLDR: What to do and what not do for an effective session

Each session is your investment in time, attention and effort! We want you to get maximum outcome from such investment for you and your peers. Over time, we have found certain things that make for a successful session. Here is a summary! If you come across any more tips, please share them with us! We love to update our content with feedback from the community!

1. Keep pleasantries to minimum, just like you would in an office meeting

2. Decide the sequence in which you will go over the status of previously agreed upon actions and status updates (you can go alphabetically, by time zone, by state or whatever else you choose as the criterion for that session)

3. Set the timer so each peer can stay on time and on track!  Normally, 3-5 minutes per peer are sufficient, but you decide what time works for your peer group.

4. While your peers are providing the update on actions and current status, do take notes for the points where you have more questions and/or some feedback.  These don't have to be paragraphs, but just memory jogger words for you.

5. For every peer, be prepared with the following:

   • ---i.  Clarifying questions in case some update was not clear for you (These questions should be neutral and not leading!)

   • ---ii. Progress that you appreciated (1-3 points/sentences each starting with an action verb)

   • ---iii.Gaps that you noticed where the peer needs to work more (1-3 points/sentences each starting with an action verb)

   • ---iv. Your 0-10 rating for the behavior that your peer is working on (all ratings start at 5 and will move up and down over the course of your group life span)

6. Use timer and provide your opinions succinctly, honestly and clearly (Your peers won't benefit from sugar coated feedback or indirect statements.  They want truth from you!).  Normally, your feedback per peer should last 2-5 minutes as well (including any clarifying questions).

7. As you start getting feedback on your progress, do take notes on what your peers have appreciated, which gaps have they mentioned and any clarifying questions. Note: the clarifying questions help you to figure out over time what communication styles you

need to use so that your delivery of speech is as clear to audience as possible.

8. Based on the feedback, take a few minutes to think about next set of actions that you want to engage in and talk about them with your peers

9. Once you and your peers agree on the actions, put them into your peer group dashboard, say thank you to all and that's it!  You are done... as you can see, the whole process takes 60-90 minutes and sometimes might be shorter or longer depending on the content.