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I spent 2 years leading book club discussions like I was teaching a college seminar
It was only after a member told me 'we just want to talk about how the ending made us feel, not analyze the symbolism' that I realized my lecture style was killing the conversation, so how do you actually get people to open up instead of just nodding along?
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jamie_clark2d agoMost Upvoted
My buddy Dave ran a hiking meetup for about a year. He kept planning these 15 mile death marches with elevation gain charts and gear checklists. One day a new guy showed up in jeans and sneakers and Dave almost had a heart attack. But after the hike that guy said "man that was fun, I just wanted to walk in the woods and look at birds." Dave realized he was turning a casual thing into a training program. Now he plans flat 3 mile loops and people actually talk and laugh instead of just sweating and checking their heart rates.
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patricia_singh812d ago
Oh man, that reminds me of when I joined a gardening group thinking we'd do hands-on work. Turns out it was just people showing photos of their roses. I kept trying to explain the soil chemistry behind why one bloomed better and everyone just stared at me. Finally I just said, "That's a pretty flower" and they all relaxed. Sometimes you gotta match the energy of the room even if it feels too simple.
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