The Facilitated Discussion
Dana Sednek Bowler
Cisco WebEx Global Collaboration Consultant
Dana.Bowler@webex.com
Twitter: DaynStarr
David Carter, CTO Founder
david.carter@awarenessnetworks.com
Twitter: dkrcarter

Logistics
• Got Questions?
• Join the conversation on Twitter
• Hashtag is #awarenessinc
• Use the Chat or Q&A function in WebEx
• Tech Issues?
• Contact WebEx Customer Service

Awareness
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About Awareness

Def: Synchronous versus Asynchronous Communication
Asynchronous Synchronous
Browse content in various • Follows a timeline
ways • Moves forward
> Chronological
• Live events
> By Topic
> Author
> Popularity
• Viewer controls what
when they view

Social Media Marketing: Making Marketing Social
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Top 8 Social Media Marketing Use Cases

Best Practice Communities: Ready to Measure Success
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Traditional Marketing is One Way Dialog
Customers
Customers • Traditional Marketing is
about the brand speaking
to the consumer
Brand Customers
• Generally focused on the
first part of the customer
lifecycle… acquisition
Customers Customers
• Customer retention is not
Customers
the job of marketing

Social Media Marketing is Customer Lifecycle
Joe • Two way dialog
> Brand to Customer
> Customer to Customer
Brand
(via Stan ) Sally
• Multiple approaches to
cover all aspects of the
customer lifecycle
Susan Peter
Frank • Depth of Customer
Knowledge increases

The Result is a Valuable Asset
• Explicit Customer Info
> What they tell us
> What they filled out in their profile
> Data on participation
> When
> How often
> What categories
• Implicit Customer Info
> What topics "move them"
> What do they comment, rate, and vote on
> What are the profiles of their "friends"
• Ongoing Dialog with the Customer

Successful Communities
• Don't just build it and sit back
• Define clear goals for the community
• Map the community to the culture
• Ask relevent profile questions
• Create relevant conversation topics
• Leverage and create "Points of Enthusiasm"
• Synchronous Events are ideal "Points of Enthusiasm"
> "Create Buzz" before, during and after
> Capture the conversation as an assets
> Create a "bump" in membership and participation andwork to
sustain

Dana Bowler
Collaboration Consultant
Cisco WebEx

AGENDA
Importance of facilitated discussion
Select a focused topic
Build engaging conversations
Weave the experience back in

Importance of Real Time Facilitated Discussion
• Real Time Discussions
> Punctuated “face” time
> Drives acknowledgment and commitment
> Reset and redirect the tone of the community
• Facilitators help drive meetings, negotiations, and
discussions
> Create a space that is structured yet comfortable
> Group dynamic convergence
• Focused Conversations
> Live voice, live interaction

Importance of Real Time Facilitated Discussion
• Facilitated discussions vs. webinar presentations
www.gapingvoid.com

Real-time Facilitated Discussion
• Engages the audience : everyone is an active participant
• Drives the content and group experience
• Starts with a focused topic, yet the outcome evolves
• Punctuates an emotive point in time

AGENDA
Importance of facilitated discussion
Select a focused topic
Build engaging conversations
Weave the experience back in

Select a Focused Topic
• Leverage the “Point of
Enthusiasm”
• What sparked your community’s
interest?
• Get Risky
> highest risk, highest reward
www.gapingvoid.com
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Focused Topics

AGENDA
Importance of facilitated discussion
Select a focused topic
Build engaging conversations
Weave the experience back in

Build Engaging Conversations
• General to specific points within the topic
• Keep the sessions small (25 or less)
• Start the discussion as if you were in a room together
> What would be the first thing you do?
> Warm up the Group Voice
• Ask with the intent to listen, not the intent to respond
> Come prepared with open ended questions
> Be prepared for unexpected responses
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Build Engaging Conversations
• Useful tools to keep the conversation going:
> Participant Panel – call members by name, recognize and
acknowledge who is speaking
> Annotation Tools - take notes, check opinions, group
resolve
> Raise Hand Tool - keep the conversation going / eliminates
"interruption fear“

Build Group Involvement
Building Engaging Conversations
• Ask for the group resolve
> Be open to their recommendations
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AGENDA
Importance of facilitated discussion
Select a focused topic
Build engaging conversations
Weave the experience back in

Weave the Experience Back into Community
• Post the recorded event
• Weave the resolve back into the discussion thread
• Report on outcomes – what was the group’s
resolve, updates on progress
• Ask participants to share their feedback, publish the
results

Engage your Audience in the conversation
Keep the buzz going
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What do you need to get started?
• All ingredients are available today
> Combining the two is strategic, all technology is available
• If you have a community and want to integrate
synchronous events
> Contact : AdvancedServicesSalesTeam@webex.com
• If you want a community
> Contact :
http://www.awarenessnetworks.com/company/contact.asp

Upcoming Sessions from Webex
• Jason Falls – June 24th
• Brian Solis – July 16th
• Adam Broitman – July 30th
• Meet-up at Enterprise 2.0 in Boston
June 23rd @ 6:30PM
Register at awarenessnetworks.com

Contact Information
• David Carter
CTO, Awareness
@dkrcarter
david.carter@awarenessnetworks.com
• Dana Bowler
Dana.Bowler@webex.com
@DaynStarr