Over time, I’ve been asked numerous questions regarding how to achieve the magic of a Forum experience. I will answer two of the most popular questions and elaborate on the best practices my Forum uses to reach—and stay—at the highest level of trust and confidence.

Q&A:

Why should we use the EO Gestalt Language Protocol?
Experience-sharing is non-threatening and non-judgmental. Everyone can learn from stories, there is no room for misinterpretation and it creates a safe environment. Forums that use opinions rather than experience-sharing do not reach the level of depth and confidence they can achieve.

Forum members may be afraid or concerned to present sensitive issues because of their fear of criticism and judgment. Criticism and advice will not create a safe environment, and it will not help the Forum reach the magic they seek; on the contrary, it can create a consultant/client relationship with your Forum peers, which may prevent openness and can create a problem in the Forum dynamic.

It is very important for Forum members to understand the foundation of experience-sharing and practice it, as well as understand the dangers of not using it. The EO Gestalt Language Protocol has changed my perspective of looking at problems and situations, and it has helped me be more empathetic. We are not born with opinions— our opinions come from experiences we have had in our lives. The challenge is for us to go deeper in our thinking process regarding where the opinions come from and relate to our Forum peers through feelings and empathy. This is how Gestalt helps achieve the magic in my Forum.

What exercises should we use during our first retreat?
In my experience, during the first retreat the lifeline exercise helps the Forum reach an excellent level of bonding, which is crucial to achieve at this early stage. This exercise helps build the foundation of the Forum for the future. Depending on the Forum members, this exercise may take a day or two during the retreat— two hours for each member to create the lifeline and one hour per person to present the lifeline.

The Brown Bag exercise is a very good complement to the lifeline. Taking the time to do outdoor activities in combination with something you could not do on your own is also helpful. When the members realize this can be achieved through Forum, the level of commitment grows instantly, because you come to realize that the Forum is stronger than an individual.

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Best Practices:

Monthly Update
The monthly update is one of the most crucial elements of the Forum meeting. Complete the monthly update form before the Forum session as a best practice, and be sure to do it properly. There are different formats of monthly updates, but you should use the one the Forum feels more comfortable with. Changing the format after two or three years helps the Forum get out of the comfort zone— this can be one of the touch points to discuss during the retreat.

Coaching
Coaching is critical to the presentation’s success. Presenters who have not been coached do not bring the full value of the experience to the group. Open coaching of the presentation that comes from the monthly update (not assigned) is a very powerful learning tool, as it helps make your peers better coaches. All of the Forum members should be able to achieve effective coaching through open coaching during Forum meetings.

Presentations
I recommend a combination of scheduled presentations and 30-minute presentations in each Forum meeting. The 30-minute presentation comes from the monthly update, and it’s done during the Forum meeting with the open coaching.

Matrix
In my Forum, we agree on 15 or more issues that should be tracked by one of the members— issues such as sharing feelings, being back from the break on time, not interrupting, not talking to your neighbor, etc. All of these items are included in a matrix with our names, so whenever someone incurs a “fault,” we account for it in the matrix. We review the matrix after the first presentation, at the end of the Forum meeting and at the beginning of the next Forum meeting. The idea behind this tool is to improve the Forum meeting’s performance.

As with every EO benefit, the Forum experience is what you make of it. If you commit yourself to your Forum and your own growth, the possibilities for improving personally and professionally are endless.