How to Lead a Colloquium

Leading a Colloquium/ Book Discussion

Need to lead a discussion with your book club or class? Want tips on how to promote a lively conversation in the colloquium? Whether you are an outgoing extrovert or the shy one in the group, you can lead your book club in an engaging conversation by following these few simple steps.

Complete steps 1 - 3 before meeting. Steps 4 - 9 tell you what to do during the colloquium.

1. Read the book - This may seem obvious, but it is the most important step, so it is worth stating. It is a good idea to plan on finishing the book a little earlier than you might otherwise so that you have time to think about it and prepare before your book club meets.

2. Write down important page numbers - If there are parts of the book that made an impact on you or that you think may come up in discussion, write down the page numbers so that you can access the passages easily while preparing and leading your book club discussion. You can also mark the pages with sticky tabs for easy access to important pages.

            3. Come up with 8-10 questions about the book – Bring a copy for each person.

Tips:  When writing your own book club discussion questions, avoid questions that are too general, like "What did you think of the book?" Also avoid questions that have yes or no answers. You want to ask questions that are open ended and help people talk about themes and how the book relates to real life. You want to find truth.

Do not make rude statements toward other people's comments. Even if you disagree, take the conversation back to the book rather than saying "That's ridiculous," etc. Making people feel embarrassed or defensive is a sure way to shut down the conversation.

4.  Let others answer first - When you are asking questions, you want to facilitate discussion, not come off as a teacher. By letting others in the book club answer first, you will promote conversation and help everyone feel like their opinions matter. Note: Sometimes people may need to think before they answer. Part of being a good leader is being comfortable with silence. Don't feel like you have to jump in if no one answers immediately. If needed, clarify, expand or rephrase the question.

5. Make connections between comments - If someone gives an answer to question 2 that connects well with question 5, don't feel obligated to ask questions 3 and 4 before moving to 5. You are the leader and you can go in whatever order you want. Even if you go in order, try to find a link between an answer and the next question. By connecting people's comments to the questions, you'll help build momentum in the conversation.

6. Occasionally direct questions toward quiet people - You don't want to put anyone on the spot, but you want everyone to know their opinions are valued. If you have a few talkative people who always jump right in, directing a question to a specific person may help draw out the quieter people (and let the loud people know it is time to give someone else a turn).

7. Rein in tangents - A little off topic conversation is fine, but you also want to respect the fact that people have read the book and expect to talk about it. As the facilitator, it is your job to recognize tangents and bring the discussion back to the book.

8. Don't feel obligated to get through all the questions - The best questions sometimes lead to intense conversations. That's a good thing! The questions are there as a guide. While you will want to get through at least three or four questions, it will probably be rare that you finish all ten. Respect people's time by wrapping up the discussion when the meeting time is over rather than pushing on until you finish everything you planned.

9. Wrap up the discussion - One good way to wrap up a conversation and help people summarize their opinions of the book is to ask each person to rate the book on a scale of 1-5.

Some question examples:

·       What did you think the book was about?


·       What truths did you find? How  can you apply those truths to your life?


·       What are some of your favorite passages, quotes, or parts? What do you like about them?


·        Would you want to meet any of the characters? Did you like them? Hate them?


·       If one (or more) of the characters made a choice that had moral implications, would you have made the same decision? Why? Why not?  Did you agree with the character’s choices?


·       How does the setting figure into the book? Is the setting a character? Does it come to life? Did you feel you were experiencing the time and place in which the book was set?

·       What did you learn about the time of history that the book was set in? How did reading this book help you understand the time, place, and people of that time in history?


·       What are some of the themes? How important were they? How do they apply to your life?


·       How are the book's images symbolically significant? Do the images help to develop the plot, or help to define characters?

Note:

***These questions are very generic. Try to make your questions specific to the book being discussed.