The programme should be noted in headings on the flipchart without going into detail. The clever move is to leave scope for adjusting the programme along the way, and perhaps to abort a minor exercise, if you fall behind schedule. Briefly explain what will take place, without anticipating the points. For example: “We are going to work with dialogue, and the issue is prejudice and stereotypes.” This is not the time to reveal how you are going to work, which exercises you will use, or what points you hope the participants will infer from it. Provide the relevant practical information. Participants appreciate knowing when there is a break, and where, for example to find the toilet, canteen and emergency exits. In this manner, they expend less energy on thinking about it, thus concentrating on what is going to happen at the workshop. A shared set of rules of the game helps create a good and respectful process with a reassuring space for participants to be and learn in. The rules can be established by involving participants. You can also encourage them to take responsibility for sticking to the rules along the way. This gives them greater ownership and enhances their motivation to contribute actively. And then the dialogue is already underway. You may also remind people of the rules, if you feel the process is veering off-track, say, if a head-on discussion breaks out between some participants. Expressions such as ‘set of rules’ or ‘rules of the game’ can be perceived by some people as condescending, as if the workshop leader is expecting participants to infringe whatever the rules suggest, such as ‘listen without interrupting’. Consequently, different words can be used, such as ‘norms for sharing’, ‘how to grow together’ or whatever fits the group at hand.
193