UK Government advisor Kirsty Innes: How to lead event discussions

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On 23 May, Labour government advisor Kirsty Innes attended a “brilliantly-chaired event” that taught her a few things about how to chair event conversations.

The experience prompted her to give a full breakdown of what made the discussions run so smoothly and efficiently. In this article, we’ll list her main points, as explained on social media platform X.

Kirsty began:

“Here’s some elite chair-behaviour I noticed that makes for more interesting conversations and productive conversations at roundtables and public events.”

1. Don’t let participants drawl on

“Starting with the basics: don’t let participants maunder on for ages. If they wander off-topic, interrupt and politely remind them of the question at hand,” Kirsty said.

2. Be “thick” on behalf of the audience

“Be thick on behalf of the audience,” she continued. “Make speakers break down acronyms, explain jargon, give specific examples of what they mean. Ask the stupid question.

“Step in any time you think what they said wasn’t obvious and demands clarity.”

3. Start fights

“Start fights. If two speakers’ positions seem to be in tension, then make them confront that,” Kirsty continued.

“Ask ‘How does that fit with what X just said?’ or ‘Would you agree with Y’s framing?’, or ‘Would anyone here like to challenge that view?’”

4. Involve the audience or other speakers for quick reactions

“Involve the audience or rest of the speakers for quick reactions, eg ‘Can I get a show of hands, who would agree with that?’, ‘Has anyone else experienced something similar?’, ‘Does anyone know the answer to that?’”

5. Actively curate the debate

“Actively curate the debate, ie, don’t just go to the next person who indicates they want to speak,” Kirsty explained. “Pick someone you think will have an interesting response to what’s just been said. Collect interventions on the same topic before you give someone the floor to move on.”

6. Take part yourself

“Take part in the conversation yourself. Chuck in your own questions, opinions and experiences (don’t overdo this one, though…).”

7. Actively bring people in who don’t spontaneously speak as much

Be inclusive: actively bring in people who don’t spontaneously speak up as much and offer them the floor.

For the TL;DR (too late; didn’t read), Kirsty said: “I reckon 90% of policy event sI go to would be better if the chair was more pushy.”

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