There’s a clear combination of personal traits and techniques that I believe every moderator should go into this deliberation with. I will try to apply these to my own performance in our deliberation.
- A moderator should be a good listener. It’s one thing to be present at the deliberation and hear everyone’s ideas and opinions on each option, but you should make sure that you’re actually paying attention to the logic and meaning behind what’s being said, not just the words.
- A moderator should be even tempered and open minded. If a moderator can’t control their own temper in reaction to ideas that oppose their own, how can they make sure that the deliberation doesn’t devolve into a heated debate.
- A moderator should actually “moderate”. The moderator is supposed to listen to the ideas rather than give their own. However, the moderator should not just sit passively, they should make sure to participate by making sure that everyone is speaking during the deliberations and getting their voices heard.
- A moderator should keep track of the deliberation material being presented. Although we are not actually going to be able to win or lose this deliberation, it’s important to keep track of important points or ideas that are made during the deliberation for future reference. Therefore, the moderator is responsible for providing the members of the deliberation with this information so that we can all walk away from this assignment with something of meaning.
