Chat Format/Rules

HOW TO FOLLOW OR CONTRIBUTE TO DISCUSSIONS IN A LIVE TWITTER CHAT

How does a live twitter chat work? In order to participate, you will need to go to your twitter search and type in #swunited. Depending on the number of participants, the tweet stream may flow pretty quickly. To contribute to the discussion, you will need #SWUnited at the beginning or at the end of each tweet. To direct a question to and/or include the moderator in the post, your tweet will need to include @swhelpercom and #SWUnited. Also, Socialworkhelper.com has a twitter chat channel in which I actually prefer because it will add the #SWUnited in your tweet for you. View the SWHelper Twitter Channel, and you can also view the archive of past chats at http://www.storify.com/swunited.

Each week a blog post will be created to promote the topic and issues for discussion. Each chat will last for approximately one hour on Mondays at 8PM EST. Each chat will start with a recap of the blog post, introduce any guest panelist, ask three questions, and discuss possible implications. Chats will end by recapping any takeaways from the discussion, and it will be archived for review to spark further investigation.

We will be discussing social justice, politics, and current events as well as issues relating to social work policy and practice. A few ground rules may need to be established to maintain a solution focused conversation.

Ground Rules CFT (Child and Family Team Meeting) Style

Creative environment
Open minded
No bad ideas
We support risk taking

All views heard
Listen with respect

Neutral Moderation
Facilitators serve the discussion

Understanding before judgment
Open minded
Ask questions

Minimize assumptions
Listen to understand
Imagine the other person’s view
If unclear, ask

Tolerance
Assume the best in each
Give the benefit of the doubt
Focus on behaviors, not personalities

We are here for the group cause
Us over me
Fully present

We know the process is imperfect
Don’t expect too much of each other
We probably won’t achieve all things for all people

Positive outlook
We might achieve more than we dreamed
Conflict and tension lead to solutions

Humility
I don’t know what’s best for the group
No one is smarter than all of us

Look for the best in each other
Each person has gifts to share
Appreciation and gratitude

We judge behaviors, not people
Separate behaviors from personalities
Don’t carry grudges
Don’t take things personally

Shared responsibility
For the chat outcomes
For following the process

Have fun
Laughter is good
Jokes welcome, at no one’s expense

Deona Hooper, MSW
Founder and Editor of Socialworkhelper.com

This rules were obtained from Good Group Decision Inc. For more information on Group Decision Making go to http://www.goodgroupdecisions.com/GroundRules.aspx