Daily Archives: February 25, 2013

Moderating philosophy

Throughout deliberation, one of the most important jobs that there is during the process is moderation, thus making the moderator one of the main components. Without a moderator it is possible for the deliberation to get out of hand. Also without a moderator there could be a huge lack of discussion. And because of these two consequences, deliberation needs to be aided by a moderator, who knows what they are doing.

One of the most important tasks for a moderator is communication with those who are taking part in the deliberation. A moderator needs to know what is at hand. It is near impossible for someone to walk into a discussion and be able to have constructive deliberation when they have no idea what they are talking about. The moderator also needs to be able to keep the discussion going. Instead of tuning out and not listening to the other group members; they need to remain active in the discussion, often even posing questions regarding what the members have just said.

Regarding myself as a moderator, I was not as well versed with the topic of sustainability as I would have liked to have been. I read the packet, but often there are outside factors that aren’t contained within the packet. Therefore I really had no background information on the subject. I think this had a major role in my ability to interact in the discussion. Also I know that when I was a moderator I made sure to listen to what other people were saying and tried to incorporate what they had just said into a question in order to start a new conversation. Although I wasn’t a perfect moderator, I think I did okay considering it was my first time in that position and I tried to make the awkward silences less frequent.

Overall, moderators are very important to the success of deliberation. Without someone  to keep the conversation going or stop it from getting out of control there would be no civil deliberation. It is definitely necessary for a moderator to know what issues are at hand so that they can be able to construct a strong and positive discussion. Without a moderator there would be many problems with the process of deliberation.