Hints and Tips for running your own Probably42 Discussion Group

 

You should set up a group to operate in the way that you prefer but we’ve found it useful to have a leader for each meeting who sets and introduces the topics, makes sure that the discussion doesn’t stray too far from the point, and drops a note round afterwards covering the outcome from the meeting.  

Some specific tips from our experience are:

It’s good to have discussions in a relaxed environment e.g. over a pie and a pint.

It helps to decide on the topic for the meeting well beforehand, perhaps discussing a number of options via email and, then agreeing the one to go for. If you need a starting point then you could choose to discuss the Probably42 ‘Topic of the Month’, which would mean any ideas could input to that discussion on Probably42 as well.

If one person then takes responsibility for scoping the topic and suggesting possible areas of discussion within this, it makes the discussion flow much better. By circulating this on email beforehand, it prompts a bit of pre-thinking which again helps the discussion.

If someone, probably the person who scoped the discussion, also takes responsibility for capturing and circulating any key points, then ideas are not lost. This can spawn further comment and makes the meetings feel more worthwhile. It’s also useful to capture questions that come up, particularly relating to facts and figures for some aspect, and someone then taking the trouble to research these after the meeting.

It’s also good to have an expected duration for the meeting. We go for 2 hours, without necessarily sticking rigidly to that.

Of course, don’t forget to capture the output on Probably42 for others to add their comments. You can set up your own Group name on Probably42 by just clicking on the Groups navigation item and select Create New Group (note you need to be logged in otherwise you won’t see the option).