> Senior Group Discussions

September 20, 2023

Senior Group Discussions
How to conduct a group discussion

Many people go to Senior Centers to have greater social connection. At my Conversation Group at the Adult Community Center in Lake Oswego, Oregon (a suburb of Portland), we have developed a simple approach that seems to work really really well at increasing our personal social connection.

First, select a moderator for the session. The moderator will guide the gorup to make sure the discussion stays on track.

Then select a topic that is personal. For example

Tells us about 3 cities that have special meaning in your life, or
Tell us about your work life, or
Tell us about the role has music played in your life

Giver the gorup about 5 minutes to write down some notes about what they want to say.

Then ask for a person to go first, and give them about 10 minutes to answer the question. Then ask the group if they have ny questions for the speaker.

Do the same for each member of the group. After all have spoken ask if the group has any additional questions.

Finally, ask the gorup if they had any new thoughts or insights based on the group discussion.