Observation teams

Groupings within an audience that are assigned to watch out for special elements in the presentation and/or to assume a particular perspective in acting out their role as audience. Each group can receive different instructions; to record, for example, questions for clarification (like the audience reaction teams), points of disagreement they may have personally or in their assigned role, points that are new, surprising, particularly relevant, points that synthesize with other presentations in the conference, or points about the style and the means of presentation. Observations made by individuals in each of the teams can be written down and collected at the end of the presentation, briefly processed by a few members of each group and reported to the chairperson. Alternatively the observation teams can be divided into "buzz-groups" to synthesize their observations and to report them to the total meeting at the appropriate point in the discussion.[Advantages]

Particularly applicable to very large gatherings. They encourage audience involvement and "active listening", and help to ensure constructive input during the discussion period. Individual contributions undergo an initial selection and refinement process before being presented to the whole group, and the points that are made can cover a wide spectrum. If the conference is to divide up into smaller meeting spaces for the discussion, members of the different observation teams can be spread through different meetings after they have collected and processed their findings as teams. Clarity and appropriateness of the instructions is very important. The process can be very constructive and work well towards a synthesis between the different presentations at a conference, and will probably be welcomed by those who prefer clearly structured procedures which enable and encourage participation.

[Disadvantages]

People who do not prefer structured processes could find this method manipulative. The special instructions and assignments could get in the way of their direct appreciation of the presentation, and they may feel that they were being programmed to receive the message in a prescribed way. Concentration on particular points may mean that other valuable points are missed.