Page 178 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

Step 2: Working in small groups 8 Regularly mixing small table groups The primary tool you will use through a public judgement (deliberation) is regularly mixing small groups. Small groups (5-6 people) allow a mix of voice, more time with information and close relationship building. Through the project you should make use of small groups to cover lots of information at the same time, to generate many ideas at the same time and to work together on refining ideas at the same time. You should regularly mix groups because we all tend to sit with people like us – and the purpose is to find common ground across the whole diverse group. You’re ensuring that participants do not accidentally or intentionally form cliques. You should make sure to pay attention to group dynamics, sometimes people do not get along or they are unproductive when paired in the same group. Mixing groups up between exercises keeps things energised and allows you to distribute different social styles and demographics evenly. Having a good mix of task- based and people-based social styles in a group can ensure they stick to time instructions while also going into detail, for example. 176 A Project of the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF)