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There can be one or more speakers invited to the discussion to open the event with thoughts, ideas, questions and then the small group discussion can begin; OR the event can be purely about the discussion questions without a speaker present.

Decide on the questions to be discussed and write them on sheets of paper. Select your 'table hosts' – these will be people who remain seated at the table/circle and do not move when others move. They will ask the participants to introduce themselves and then ask the discussion questions..

Set up the room with a few chairs around small tables or just chairs in a small circle – three or more chairs depending on the number of participants in the discussion.

Introduce the session, explaining how it works: people sit at a table, the table host introduces the question, and the groups of people are given 15 minutes to discuss amongst themselves and to note down some major point arising on paper or post-it notes.

After the 15 minutes are up, all the people from the groups leave their first table host and move about the room to different tables/circles.

The process of the table host asking people to introduce themselves and respond to the discussion questions continues for another 15 minutes, until all the question have been discussed.

The number of questions is up to you! But 15 minutes is about the minimum time to discuss each question, so in an hour-long event you need four questions.

Once all the questions have been discussed the table hosts stick the notes on a wall so all can see the major points that arose.

Offering refreshments is usually a good way to get people to continue talking after an event and makes the environment more informal and relaxing.

Pros:

- Small group interactions enable people to get to know each other quicker and more easily.
- Moving around the room to different tables enables people to get to know more people and reach a wider audience with their own opinions.
- This style may encourage more people to speak/voice their opinion as they are only addressing a small group rather than all those who attend.
- Topical questions can be briefly discussed by everyone in the small groups – may prevent digression.
- One person per table (table hosts) asks the set questions and steers the discussion – ensuring as many people as possible air their opinions and prevent unnecessary digression.
- Discussion of the questions/issues may continue after the organised discussion session has ended e.g. over tea and coffee.

Cons:

- Some people may not feel confident to discuss the questions and may feel under pressure to speak because of the small group style of discussion.
- Lack of discussion time on each question – usually only about 15 minutes per question and depending on the size of the groups not everyone may get a fair chance to speak.
- Table hosts do not have a chance to mix around the room as they remain static to their table.
- Table hosts may not get the same opportunity to give their opinions if asking the questions and steering the discussions.
- Some view/opinions may offend other people in the small group and the table hosts may not know how to deal with the situation.

Case Study:

My friend and I went to a seminar expecting the usual lecture style, however we were told that this seminar was different – it was World Café style. My friend was asked to be a table host (along with a few others) which meant that she would stay sitting at the table, read the set questions to the group and note down any interesting issues/point that arose from the discussions. I and all the other people (except the table hosts) would move to different tables after each question had been discussed – we had 15 minutes in which to discuss the question before moving to a new spot.

About 6 or 7 chairs were set out around each small table in the seminar hall and four chairs were set out in a row at the front where two of the organisers and two guest speakers sat. The first organiser welcomed everyone to the seminar and told us how the next hour and a half would pan out. The first speaker said a few words on the discussion topic after which the second speaker said a few words. The table hosts began by asking everyone in the small group to introduce themselves – this was a good opportunity to get to know people’s names and a little bit about them but it also ate into the allotted 15 minutes, reducing the discussion time. The table hosts then asked the questions and the group would either take it in turns going around the circle to give a response or anyone would respond when felt they wanted to. The benefit of taking it in turns to respond by going around the circle is that everyone has the opportunity to give a response to prevent others dominating the discussion, however I think the draw backs are that not everyone had something to say at ‘their turn’ and people may have felt under pressure to speak. Also, by taking it in turns to respond some people did not even get a chance to respond within the allocated 15 minutes because other people before them had given a longer response. The benefit of allowing anyone to respond as and when they wanted without ‘taking turns’ was that people responded to issues other people had raised and the dynamic of the discussion therefore seemed better. The drawbacks to this however were that some people either didn’t want to respond and therefore didn’t have to or that they wanted to respond but didn’t get a chance because other people were dominating the discussion within the allocated time.

After discussing four questions and pinning up the post-its on the wall so everyone could see the issues and themes that emerged from the discussions the chairs were brought into a big circle. The second organiser mentioned some of the themes she felt had emerged and had been discussed in the seminar before she asked if anyone had any further thought or responses to the seminar. A couple of people brought out a few points and issues from their own experiences related to the discussion questions.

The seminar ended and most people stayed to continue informal discussions and introductions over tea and coffee. Overall the seminar was a very positive and enjoyable experience – it gave me the chance to get to know more people and to discuss issues I am interested in, therefore to actively participate in the seminar rather than just sitting and listening to someone else!