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• Dynamics Book Discussion Club (Overview)
  
  
• Get Ready: Steps for Start-up
  
  
• Get Set: Suggestions for Success
  
  
• Go!!: Tips on Leading the Discussion
  
  
• Discussion Packets
  • The Bean Trees
  • The Bridges of Madison County
  • Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend
  • Cold Mountain
  • Bibliography
  • Additional Resources

Dynamics Book Discussion Club

Go!!: Tips on Leading the Discussion

1. RESPECT for others is essential. Give these guidelines at your club's first discussion meeting and remind participants about them as needed:

   • Everyone is entitled to express their opinion, so you must give others a chance to speak. Monopolizing the conversation is not allowed.

   • If you have something to say, wait until the person speaking is finished. Interrupting is disrespectful.

   • You are welcome to argue with a person's idea, but you may not make personally insulting comments. For example, you can say, "I disagree with Mary because ." but you cannot say, "That's a stupid idea."

   • Debating ideas is good and makes for interesting discussion, but sometimes participants will just have to "agree to disagree."

2. If conversation is flowing, let it-even if it has nothing to do with the book! Remember, Dynamics' main goals are to promote reminiscence and relating to one another.

3. Try to bring everyone into the conversation. Ask specific people what they think about the topic. If they have nothing to add, invite them to suggest a subject they are interested in discussing.

4. Pay attention to participants' nonverbal cues. Facial expressions, posture, gestures, and tone of voice are all indications of how the session is going. Are people feeling bored, offended, left out, or impatient? Resolve any issues you notice immediately, keeping in mind that Dynamics is supposed to be fun. Also note what members enjoy discussing and incorporate those elements into the conversation, especially when the discussion stalls.

5. If the discussion comes to a standstill, move past the book. Ask participants what parts of the story have parallels in their own lives, or simply move to the next question.

6. The indented answer prompts are not necessarily the "correct" answers, just a few thoughts to get the discussion started or provide another perspective.

7. When reading a quotation aloud, do not pause at a . (an ellipsis) or at a word in [ ] (brackets). The quotations will make sense when read smoothly-there is no need to indicate where an ellipsis or a bracketed word is.