Page 393 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

376 Appendix B

Inviting Public Input Using a Buzz Group Session

Often, people who organize public presentations of a group’s work decide to incorporate
Buzz Group Session procedures that allow audience members to discuss what they have heard. A buzz group
A method that allows session allows a large audience to be divided into many small groups that discuss the
a large audience to same question or issue, thereby permitting everyone to become actively involved in the
be divided into many discussion. Sometimes a buzz group session is used to generate a list of questions for
small groups of about panelists or symposium speakers to address; at other times, the audience members are
six people to discuss asked to respond to what they have already heard as part of a public presentation. A
the same question or colleague of ours participated with 500 educational leaders in Kentucky who met to
issue, thereby work out techniques for promoting a Minimum Foundation Program for public educa-
permitting all tion in that state. Organizers hoped the large group would identify ways to get the sup-
participants in the port of taxpayers for approving a statewide tax to help local schools based on need. This
large group to
become actively meant higher taxes and money flowing from richer to poorer districts. Several times,
involved in the after audience members heard initial panel presentations, their work in buzz groups
discussion. produced arguments in support of the program and inexpensive advertising and promo-
tional techniques to be used. Instructions for the buzz group procedure are in Table B.6.
This versatile technique has many variations. Feel free to tweak it to suit your
purposes.
TABLE B.6
Steps for the buzz 1. Present a focused, targeted question. Examples:
group procedure a. What techniques can be used to publicize the Minimum Foundation Program
to citizens in each county or city throughout the state?
b. What new projects might our sorority undertake as service projects?
c. What are arguments for (or against) charging students different fees
depending on their majors?
2. Divide the large audience into groups of five or six, usually by seating
arrangement. Give each group a copy of the question or post it up front, perhaps
on a PowerPoint slide.
3. Have each group select a recorder.
4. Ask each group to brainstorm answers to the question in a fixed time period,
usually 5 to 10 minutes. The recorder writes down all ideas presented.
5. Warn the groups when 1 minute remains.
6. Sometimes, you may ask the group to spend an additional minute or two rank-
ordering the suggestions.
7. Depending on the number of groups and the goals, there are several options for
handling the audience feedback:
a. Each recorder reports one idea, in round- robin fashion, until all unique ideas
are presented, with one person serving as the overall recorder for the entire
group. This may be followed by participants “voting” with stickers by the ideas
they like best.
b. Each recorder presents all the ideas orally to the entire group.
c. The lists are collected and typed, after duplicates are eliminated, and a tally is
kept of the most oft- mentioned ideas. The final list is often circulated to
participants after the conference.

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