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About Questions and Conversation

Community is built on conversation. We are building community every day on our message boards. We do that by encouraging conversation. Good cls ask questions. Great cls ask questions that encourage conversation as well as participate in that conversation, as well as in the other conversations on the board.

Turning a question into a conversation is the most important thing you will do as a community leader. You should try to do it every day. That is how you will build community. Questions are important. But how you go about using them is MORE important
When you ask a question on your boards:

  1. Tell your members about yourself, the things you enjoy, important events in your life, the reason the question came to you or appealed to you.
  2. Show an interest in your members and their answers. The best way to do this is by replying to them in a friendly and curious manner.
  3. Seek out ways in which you and your members have something in common with each other and with you. Do they have common goals, interests and experiences? Explore those.
  4. When you present a story to go with your question, start with the main idea. Use details as your members reply and show the direction they are interested in the conversation going.
  5. Balance the question with listening to your members and your own participation in the board
  6. Ask about things your members have previously mentioned in their posts.
  7. Keep on top of current events and issues related to your board topic. Often the best conversations are built around the topic of the board. Your members have an interest in that topic and often experiences and goals related to the topic.
  8. Be accepting of your members right to individuality and to disagree with you
  9. Be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm and interest will go a long way towards getting answers to questions and developing conversation.
  10. Be interested in the answers to the question. Dont post just because that is what you should do.
  11. Dont blast your board with questions. Include them in the rhythm of your board. Use them in answers to your members posts. Use them in your daily posts as part of sharing with your members and asking their thoughts views and opinions.
  12. Encourage answers by being receptive to hearing the answers. You do this by responding to their questions and by the way you present the question