The Socratic Light Meeting
Role of the Moderator:
- There is an independent moderator who leads the entire session. This person does not need to be knowledgeable about the subject and can come from another team or department. At the start, the moderator explains that participants are asked to actively listen to each other. The discussion rules of the Socratic Light Meeting facilitate this.
- The moderator never touches the ball, refraining from any substantive comment or judgment (not even: "what a great contribution from you"). They only manage the traffic. The moderator ensures that everyone participates, including those who usually remain silent. Every thought is important. The moderator ensures more or less equal speaking time.
Preparation:
- Usually, the topic is already set. If not, start with a round where everyone shares a question that should be discussed in the meeting. Choose the most important question with the group and start with that.
- If there is time, at the beginning of the meeting, everyone may share their presuppositions regarding the topic (as one civil servant very honestly said: "I don't believe anything will ever change"). There is no need to discuss the presuppositions further.
During the Meeting:
- From the start, no one can just take the floor; the moderator randomly grants the floor and passes it to the next speaker. The moderator always asks if the speaker can first repeat what the previous speaker said. The moderator can also ask a random participant to repeat the last fifteen minutes.
- Participants can request the floor by raising their hand. When someone requests the floor, the moderator can give it to them, but does not have to. If a participant does not get the floor, they must let go of their thought; otherwise, they cannot listen.