Welcome

Welcome everyone, introduce role of facilitator. Give an outline of the group: introductions (with writing and sharing), setting group norms, close engagement with a third object, response, more writing, and a closing.

The topic of this workshop is Attention, so be mindful of the ways you give and receive attention during the workshop.

Sample language for virtual groups:
As facilitator, my role is to pose questions, prompt discussion, and keep time. There are many reasons people may have their cameras on or off during the workshop, including ongoing access needs or technical and personal issues in the moment. All are valid. However you show up in this space, we ask that you do what you can to be present and attentive for the workshop, giving us all the opportunity to be moved by others’ words.

Feel free to share any access needs you have today or any technical issues you might be experiencing. If there is anything I can do to accommodate those needs today, please send me a direct message in the chat so I can adjust, as needed.

Production note:
For warm-up activities, best to not share slides. This is so the virtual room feels more like a workshop than a lecture. For some, it will be less distracting too, and can make it easier to read faces, reactions, and expressions.

Introduction Write & Share (15 minutes)

Offer three back-to-back writing prompts. Following the principles of narrative medicine, these help show how we are made up of different roles, identities, values, and characteristics that make us who we are.

Warm-up write (1 minute)
If you were a mode of transportation, what would it be? Elaborate on your response.

Warm-up write (1 minute)
What roles do you inhabit in healthcare spaces that you’d like to share with the rest of the group?

Warm-up write (1 minute)
What else would you like the group to know about you?

Facilitator tip:
We use writing prompts for this short intro exercise for a few reasons. First, by writing something down, you create stories in addition to reporting details. Secondly, it keeps you on track as everyone has the same amount of time to share.

Share (12 minutes)

Have everyone share their name and how to pronounce it, their pronouns if they’re comfortable, then read what they’ve written. Facilitators participate too! When everyone is done, ask “Where did attention show up in this exercise?”

Facilitator tip:
To make this a smooth virtual session, write names in the chat in the order they should introduce or ask one person to go first and have them call on the next, and so on.

Remind participants that we will have a lot of time to get to know each other over the next 2 weeks. This is a short introduction exercise to just get us started. We use writing prompts for a few reasons. The first is that by writing something down, you are creating stories in addition to reporting information. The second is that it keeps on track–everyone has the same amount of time to share a bit of themselves.

Setting Group Norms (10 minutes)

It’s important to set group norms whether this is a one-off workshop or a series. Be sure to revisit the Touchstones and Brave Space resources before you facilitate. Be sure that important group norms (around hate speech, respect, confidentiality, etc.) make the list. Be sure to ask what is missing or what else should we add?

Production note:
Write group norms on a virtual document as you go and save them so you can revisit them in future sessions.

Engage with Third Object, Respond and Write (15 minutes)

Suggested third objects to use in this workshop are linked below this rundown.

Engage with third object (4 minutes)
Share your screen with the third object. Encourage absorbing first, note-taking second. If a written work, ask one participant to read it aloud, and for the others to absorb the piece with all senses available to them. Then ask another participant to read it aloud a second time. For visual third objects, encourage people to absorb it closely for 1-2 minutes.

Production note:
Have your third objects ready to go before sharing your screen. You may also want to paste a link in the chat so participants can link to it directly on their own, so long as that link is to a fully accessible website. This way, if you stop sharing your screen, they can still access it.

Respond (10 minutes)

• If a written work, invite participants to reflect on the differences between both readings, or what they noticed was different between the first and second time through it. Offer another 30-60 seconds for people to engage with the work more.
• Good prompting questions: What is going on in this piece? What captures your attention? What do you notice? What makes you say that? What else do you notice?
• Invite participants to share using the chat, or unmuting, then open to full conversation.

Introduce writing prompts (1 minute)
Introduce the idea of a writing prompt. Rita Charon refers to this activity as “writing in the shadow of the text” meaning your writing may be influenced by the previous text—in both conscious and unconscious ways. It is also okay if your writing has nothing to do with the previous activities. Encourage them to follow the writing wherever it takes them. There are no rules, other than to write—pen to paper or fingers to keyboard—for the full amount of time. Let them know you will set a timer and tell them when 1 minute is left.

Write (5 minutes)
For prompts and exercises that pair best with this third object, visit the Accessible Digital Library here. After the write, let the group know you will return to what you wrote after a break.

Break (5 minutes)

While it is nice to stay inside the dream of a workshop, it’s also important to normalize taking breaks. “Powering through” may leave some people behind who have access needs you are not aware of. Encourage people to stretch, use the restroom, grab a snack, and/or do what they need to rest and recharge.

Share & Respond (35 minutes)

The remaining time will be spent responding to each other’s writing. Remind participants: what is shared here stays between us. And writers: you may read all, part, or none of what you wrote. The one guideline is to do so without preamble or apology. Trust that your words have power. Trust that the group will do their best to receive them.

Share (25-30 minutes)

• As people read, invite participants to write words or phrases that stand out to them in the chat box.
• When the reader finishes, take a moment to read those words in the chat aloud, then move on to the next reader.
• If no one has put anything in the chat, take a pause and ask participants to spend 30 seconds thinking about what stood out to them. Invite them again to use the chat.
• If you are doing this in person, ask participants to write one word in their notebook and go around and have people read their word.
• There will be time to discuss and comment more once everyone has a chance to share.

Discuss (15 minutes)
Sample questions:

• What did you notice about the groups’ writing?
• What was it like to share your work with the group?
• What stood out to you from someone else’s writing, why?

Facilitator tip:
Bring the idea of attention back into the conversation if it doesn’t naturally come up on its own.

Close

Summarize (2 minutes):
What you have done so far: Opened the space with a writing prompt, got to know a little bit about the people in the room, set some group norms, read a poem together, wrote a response in the shadow of the text, and shared your writing with each other.

Behind the Curtain (2 minutes):
Our goal with “behind the curtain” is to be transparent so that as you design your own future sessions, you have a better idea of how a workshop can be structured.

As the first small group in a series of workshops, one of the goals today was to get to know the people in the room and set a tone for being together. Our intro exercise was designed to be “low emotional stakes” while still giving people an opportunity to introduce themselves in an authentic way.

We read “Famous” together, in two distinct voices to highlight that individuals bring their “self” to how they read a poem; and to highlight that a listener may pay attention in different ways depending on the voice and also the number of times they hear something. You may relate this back to different health professionals seeing the same patient, but taking away different details/stories based on what drew their attention.

We offered multiple writing prompts, knowing that participants may be drawn to one over another for reasons unique to them.

By giving everyone time to read their original writing, and for listeners to respond, we modeled narrative competence in action–listen, absorb, act on stories of others.

Although we did not specifically ask for health narratives, participants offered a diverse sampling of narratives stemming from the same poem. This highlights how individuals always bring their own unique experience to and take something different away from any “third object.” None of these narratives are right or wrong; they just are.

Closing Activity:

• Write one word in the chat that describes your experience in the workshop. Don’t hit “enter” yet, just write it.
• Once everyone is done, everyone hit “enter”
• Read the words aloud as a close to the session.