What makes for high quality online conversations that build relationships and get work done?

1. Facilitating Online
Conversations
Coach Convening
March 9, 2017 at 10 am
Jot down one memory
of an excellent online
conversation.
Consider this in any format,
context or setting.
Post it in the Chat box below.
Sara Shapiro-Plevan, Rimonim Consulting
sara@rimonimconsulting.org

2. ‘’
What does relationship mean
when presence
has multiple meanings?f
‫ּ׃‬‫ו‬ֽ‫א‬ָ‫ר‬ֵ‫י‬ ‫֥א‬ֹ‫ל‬ ‫֖י‬ַ‫נ‬ָ‫פ‬ּ‫ו‬ ‫֑י‬ָ‫ר‬ֹ‫ח‬ֲ‫א‬‫ֶת־‬‫א‬ ָ‫ת‬‫֖י‬ִ‫א‬ָ‫ר‬ְ‫ו‬
“You shall see My back;
but My face shall not be seen”
Exodus 33:23 ‫שמות‬Sara Shapiro-Plevan
sara@rimonimconsulting.org

3. ‫ּ׃‬‫ו‬ֽ‫א‬ָ‫ר‬ֵ‫י‬ ‫֥א‬ֹ‫ל‬ ‫֖י‬ַ‫נ‬ָ‫פ‬ּ‫ו‬ ‫֑י‬ָ‫ר‬ֹ‫ח‬ֲ‫א‬‫ֶת־‬‫א‬ ָ‫ת‬‫֖י‬ִ‫א‬ָ‫ר‬ְ‫ו‬
”You shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen“
1. What do you notice about this text? What are you wondering about?
2. Share any words or phrases that leap out at you, that touch you or about which you
have questions. What caused you to notice them?
3. What does it mean—to you—to be heard and not seen? To be felt and not
seen?
4. What can this text teach us about creating and deepening virtual relationships?
5. What does it mean to the functioning of a group, to group culture, or to individuals,
when we are felt but not seen?
6. What changes in our presence when we are felt but not seen? What might we
choose to change if we knew we would only be felt and not seen?
7. How do we shift our relationships from face to face to virtual based on our
understanding of this text?
Sara Shapiro-Plevan
sara@rimonimconsulting.org

4. willing suspension
of disbelief
1817, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth"
into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgment concerning
the implausibility of the narrative.

5. shift from face to face
• Are we willing to suspend our disbelief? Are we willing to suspend our
primary desire for face to face relationships?
• What makes the virtual different? What can we see in it that is
positive? Where are the possibilities?
• When it’s our job to be attentive, what does this willing suspension of
disbelief look like?
• Are we there yet? What’s getting in the way?
• How can we share our appreciation of the value of this kind of new
way of working? How can we make it work for others?
• How can we imagine online facilitation as building community?
Sara Shapiro-Plevan
sara@rimonimconsulting.org

6. What can we use?
Welcoming
• Introductions that include more than
names
• Use language of welcoming
• Don’t punish latecomers
• Post or provide in advance all material
so that participants can jump right in
• Encourage participants to take
welcoming roles in successive sessions
Shouting Out
• Ask participants to actively use names
• Encourage everyone to post their names
on their profile (if video)
• When noticing someone’s comment or
question, use their name and repeat
their words for emphasis
• Compliment participants who are able to
actively engage
• Thank everyone by name
• Notice everyone’s individual participation
Wait Time
• Typical: 1 second. Best: 4-5 seconds.
• Longer wait time allows participants to
think, develop courage to respond
• Practice your own ability to wait when
posing questions and soliciting
responses
• Retrain your teams/committees to
pause to think
Preparing
• Share a clear and brief agenda
• Share all tech info: log on information, phone numbers, any
back up information necessary
• Minimize tech difficulties by doing a run through in advance
• Have a backup plan in case any element fails: tech, phone,
people who don’t show
Pre & Post Work
• Sharing articles and links to encourage preparation
and continued learning
• Offer additional resources for exploration like
podcasts or videos on a particular subject
• Encourage members of group/team to
“backchannel” in between conversations
• Consider who is ready to be tapped for leadership
Sara Shapiro-Plevan
sara@rimonimconsulting.org

7. quick reflection
What did you notice?
What’s concerning you?
What you?
What you?
What are you left WONDERING about?
What questions are still on your mind?
What do I need to to do this?
What do you need to or ?

8. Trying out what we’ve learned
1. I’ll be facilitating an online conversation on ____.
2. In that conversation, we’ll be focusing on ____.
3. During that conversation, I will be attentive to____.
Sara Shapiro-Plevan
sara@rimonimconsulting.org