Patterns & Metaphors
Participation dynamics
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The trend toward increased participation of all kinds is growing. There is no reason to believe that this trend is a temporary one. The group which will attentively sit in rows and be told things becomes rarer and rarer. Planners which envision, however subtly, such docile groups will simply find their conferencing difficulties on the rise. This trend requires of conference planners an unprecedented dedication to devising ways of utilizing unexpected input in conferencing.
It is also necessary to focus more of conference planning on the outside parameters, the limits, of the conference than on the ideal. Stating what is outside the scope of the discussion allows participants to stay within that scope far more helpfully than does indicating what their participation should be like.
Professional consultation in conferencing can be especially helpful in providing ways to orchestrate participation which advances rather than obstructs the intended direction of the conference. The art of group facilitation in this context can only grow in its importance.
Participants, the most important actors in the conference, can only do as much as they are given the opportunity to prepare for. Material which acquaints the participant as specifically as possible with the subject matter of the conference is urgent, whether this means working papers, a questionnaire designed to let the participant consider the issues which the conference will face, or pre-conference informational meetings and videos that allow participants to share the conference context as it is developed. Participation is limited by the use of passive media for preparation--long documents of background data to absorb, involved questionnaires to submit and so on. This is because a great deal of training and discipline is required by this kind of media if it is to be useful. Participation is enhanced by active media: setting the parameters of the conference itself, writing position statements, preparing displays and presentations, attending and setting up preparatory meetings.
Many consider the more passive media to be the more appropriately dignified mode for an intellectual or business endeavour. While use of media must take serious consideration of the group's habitual expectations and carefully honour them, it is often found that active media, appropriately tailored to the group being prepared for the conference, are outstandingly effective. Preparation is basically of two types. Most commonly thought of is preparation of the group for the conceptual aspect of the conference. It is quite important, however, to prepare the group also for the methods which the conference will use. If consensus-making is to be used, participants need "field" or "hands-on" experience with the process of creating a consensus. Consensus-making on, for instance, a local position or the appropriate components of a subgroup's display can be held before the conference. The content of the activity is quite secondary to the need of participants having the opportunity to prepare themselves for the approach to be used. This is as true for the conference organizer as it is for the group member who wishes to participate meaningfully.
