The Three Stages of an xchange illustrate the necessary steps to lead a group into and out of a conversational choreography.

When bringing participants back from a breakout discussion, whether online or in-person, a critical step of the 3rd stage of the process is to invite voices to share with clarity and intention.

This means, give a very specific instruction or invitation to share, perhaps including a time prompt, instead of a vague request, which often leaves participants confused, uncertain or hesitant about what they should share.

A good example is something like:

We’ve designed space into our agenda to allow us to hear from several of your voices.

I’d love to invite 3, 4 or 5 of you to share… anything at all you can notice or appreciate about your partner and what they shared during your interaction. If you would please share in about 1-minute or less, that would be great, so we can hear from as many of you as possible in the time we have available.

A not so great example would be something like:

Who wants to share what happened in their breakout discussion?

The difference is obvious and inviting voices to share with clarity and intention will help give participants the confidence to engage and contribute.