Working with groups – make it easy for yourself

Have you landed a new job as a community worker who has to consult with diverse groups?

Are you an experienced facilitator looking for a new perspective on working with different cultural groups?

If you are looking for some ideas on how to fine-tune your skills or expand your knowledge, check out these titles.

Speakout by Wendy Sarkissian and Wiwik Bunjamin-Mau explains step-by-step the process of creating an interactive, drop-in style of engagement with community groups. It also gives clear instructions of how to organise, plan and manage community planning workshops, and make sense of the outcomes.

The Art of Community by Jono Bacon looks at strategies to bring your community together, including how you can use social media to engage with your audience.

An oldie but a goodie outlining a different approach to group discussions is The World Cafe by Juanita Brown. It’s a way to host conversations about things that matter, to get people talking and engaging, and to harness the collective intelligence, experience and knowledge of the group to move forward.

There’s also wealth of good ideas and further information on the The World Cafe website.