During the Meeting

Discussion

Everyone has a unique perspective. Encourage participants to share their views. For example:

 “Think about a time in your workplace or in your personal life when you encountered someone who was impaired (for whatever reason). You don’t have to share this, but what was the situation and how did you feel?”

Consider hypothetical workplace scenarios to stimulate discussion:

• Meeting in a Box Scenarios (DOCX, 28.1KB)

Learning Agreement

Talking about workplace impairment may be uncomfortable for some participants. A learning agreement, discussed at the beginning of your meeting, may help in setting a respectful and safe tone for discussion. A learning agreement is a set of guidelines, for example:

• Respect the opinion of others
• Turn off mobile phones
• Encourage inclusive language

Guidelines build trust and allow people to talk openly about uncomfortable topics.

Learning Agreement Options:

• Share pre-written guidelines; discuss; ask for further suggestions
• Start with a blank flipchart or whiteboard and ask participants to create the learning agreement

Icebreaker

Start with an icebreaker to engage your audience. For example:

• Ask everyone to find a partner to talk about workplace impairment. For larger groups, divide the audience into groups. Direct participants to discuss, for 10 minutes:
  • What does workplace impairment mean to you?
  • What are potential consequences of workplace impairment?
• After time is up, ask everyone to return to their original seats and open up discussion with questions, e.g.:
  • What things did you discuss?
  • Did everyone have similar meanings of workplace impairment? If not, why?
  • What are some of the consequences of workplace impairment that were shared?
• Capture key points on a flipchart or whiteboard