| LEARN: Animals Food Humane Farming? Environment Conscience SHARE: Family & Friends Screenings Classrooms SUPPORT: Overview Films & Programs New Languages Teachers Culture-Builders |
| LEARN: Animals Food Humane Farming? Environment Conscience SHARE: Family & Friends Screenings Classrooms SUPPORT: Overview Films & Programs New Languages Teachers Culture-Builders |
Moderating a discussion after a screening of Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home or The Witness can be a very positive experience -- one that can literally change lives. This guide offers some general suggestions as well as a number of specific discussion techniques to help you foster a dialogue that is engaging and rewarding for all. Every community is different and every discussion moderator has his or her own style. Hopefully this guide will open up new possibilities and stimulate your own creativity in adapting what is here to suit the specific needs of your audience.
Much of what follows was informed by feedback from people all over the world who have screened our films. We encourage you to send us your suggestions as well, so we can continue to enhance and improve this guide.
Your role as moderator
Watching a Tribe of Heart film is a powerful experience that takes the audience on a compelling journey of strong feelings and introspection. After seeing one of these films, many viewers may feel quite emotional and a bit vulnerable, as well as inspired. More than any specific information that you could possibly share with your audience at this time, what will help people the most is your unwavering respect and kindness as you invite them to discuss their viewing experience.
Your primary role as discussion moderator is to assist people in sharing their experiences with one another. Such sharing is comfortable for some but challenging for others, and your most important task is to set the tone for how audience members should listen and respond to each other. Being a model of kindness and respect at all times toward each individual, no matter what they say or how they say it, will make more of a difference than you might expect.
Never feel that you have to be the "expert" in these after-film discussions or that it is up to you to respond to each comment. If the audience speaks only to you and not to one another, an opportunity for creating community is missed. Therefore, it can be helpful to first acknowledge a comment or question, and then send it back out to the audience for discussion. Remember, you are best serving the audience members when you are fostering dialogue amongst them and not simply between each of them and you. That said, it is certainly fine to answer direct questions on topics about which you are knowledgeable, and to respond to someone’s reaction by sharing your own thoughts or feelings.
Post-film discussion, step by step
After the credits have finished rolling and the lights have been turned on, thank everyone for sharing the screening experience. Acknowledge that it is a powerful and thought-provoking film which evokes a multitude of responses. Tell them that you will now be handing out comment cards (find them here and here) for them to fill out, and that the purpose of having a discussion after the film is to give people a chance to explore and share their experience and hear how the film affected others. If you are using surveys, give the group five minutes or so to focus on writing their responses, and then begin the discussion. If you are using comment cards, which call for much briefer responses and questions, you can begin the discussion as soon as you notice that many in the room have stopped writing down their thoughts.
Invite the group to share any comments, questions, or reactions to the film that they had. If no one speaks up right away, wait 15 seconds or so. If still no one is ready to start, you can get the ball rolling by briefly sharing something about your own experience with the film. Topics might include your reaction to the film when you first saw it, or what people have shared with you from other screenings of the film, the latest news about the film from the Tribe of Heart website, etc. Generally speaking, people become less shy about asking questions or making comments once the discussion is underway.
When you are a few minutes into the discussion, you can ask people who have finished with their comment cards to hold them up, and have your volunteers collect them and bring them down to the front. You can then quickly scan through them, pausing to share an insightful or heartfelt comment, to answer a question, or pose a question to the group.
When the discussion has run its course and begins to lose momentum, thank everyone for their sharing. If possible, tell them one thing that you will honestly, genuinely take from the discussion, such as, "I feel honored to be among such compassionate, open-minded people," or, "Some of these questions that you posed were so interesting and I am going to take them with me and give them much more thought—thank you."
Point out that many people may want to learn more about the issues and what they can do to help, and direct them here to Peaceable Journey
Thank everyone again for coming and tell them where to go for vegan refreshments if you are serving them.
Creative Variations
1. Pre-film exercise
In some settings, creating a sense of connection amongst audience members before the film begins can be helpful. Since people are likely to feel emotional while watching the film, connections made to other audience members ahead of time can deepen the shared experience and enhance the feeling of community afterwards.
An easy and effective way to get audience members connecting before the film is to ask each person to partner up with someone near to them that they don’t know, introduce themselves with first name only, and take 1-2 minutes to talk about an animal who has been important to them in their life. Explain to them that many people have had positive and meaningful experiences with a companion animal, an animal on a farm, a wild animal, or even an animal portrayed in a book, movie or television show, and that we are often not aware of how important these experiences are in our lives. Ask them to reflect for a moment on this question, and then to tell their partner about this animal and how the experience made an impact on their life. After 1-2 minutes, have them switch and let the other person do the same. You may well find that it is hard to get people to stop talking at the end of the allotted time!
2. One-on-one
This is a variation of the standard post-film discussion in which pairs of people discuss their experience as a prelude to a large group discussion. It is a good strategy for medium and larger size groups in which some people might not have a chance, or the sense of comfort, to immediately share their reactions with the whole group. Ask each person to pair up with a partner. If chairs are moveable, they can sit facing their partner. Explain that first one person in the pair will share their thoughts, feelings, and questions about the film for two minutes. During this time, the partner's role is just to listen and make no comments. What is said is to be kept confidential between the two. You will tell the pairs when to start sharing and at the end of two minutes, you will let them know that it is time to switch roles. During the second sharing, they are not to comment on what the other person said, but rather to share their own thoughts, feelings, and questions.
As an extension, after both sharing sessions have occurred, you can suggest a 3-minute session for the partners to dialogue. Or you can skip this step. Then, have everyone come together again as a whole group and ask people to share their own comments or questions, but not their partner’s.
3. "And the survey says..."
Younger audiences or those not accustomed to sharing personal experiences in groups can be helped by writing out their reactions first. Writing allows them to organize and process their thoughts before they move on to a discussion. Hand out printed copies of the survey (Peaceable Kingdom survey here, Witness survey here), and a pen for all participants. Give them about 5-7 minutes to write out their reactions.
After they finish writing, start out the discussion by inviting participants to share their experience of the film. Validate their comments, and ask if others had similar or different reactions. When you notice similar reactions, point out that some reactions are widely experienced by audiences; when you notice very different reactions, point out that the film can evoke diverse responses from viewers, that each response is valid and valued, and that it is fascinating and important to learn from one another.
If the open-ended format does not result in spontaneous comments, or if the discussion "dies out," then ask a specific question from the survey and invite people to share what they wrote. You can simply move down the survey asking each question and then asking people to share their responses. Be sure to validate responses that are offered. You can do this by saying, (as long as it is true for you) "yes," "I understand what you're saying," "that makes sense," "thank you for sharing that," "yes, I felt that also," "do others share that feeling?" and "I see why you would feel that way," for example. These small comments can really help people to open up more.
4. Sacred object circle
This technique is most suited for a classroom, workshop, or religious/spiritual group. It is best for groups of 30 or smaller.
Everyone sits in a circle, either in chairs or on the floor. Choose an object that can be easily held and passed around among group members, and one that has some special significance. Among Native American groups, a sacred "talking stick" is often the object of choice. The special object is passed around, and each person speaks his or her truth while holding it. The special object can start in the center, be picked up by each person as they decide to speak, and then returned to the center for whomever will speak next, or it can be given to one person to start and then passed around the circle from person to person. No one speaks unless it is their turn to hold the sacred object. Those who choose not to speak in the moment can simply pass the sacred object to the next person -- with smaller groups, they will have a second or even third opportunity to speak when the object comes around again.
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