ROUNDTABLE FORMATS
There will be 2 Roundtable Sessions per day for a total of 4 RTs in two days.
The first RT on day 1 and the last RT on day 2 open and close the sessions cycle and will respectively be the “Icebreaking Session” and the “Wrap Up Session”.
The remaining 2 Core Sessions will be where each table will get to work on a specific topic.
The Macro Areas of work for the  Core Sessions will be Help & Support sessions and will revolve around several topics such as Growth, Operations, Tech Stack, Marketing, Safety & Guest Experience, based on the table members needs.
1. ICE BREAKING SESSION
Time: 50-60 Minutes
- Antonio introduces the first session, introducing the figure of the facilitator who will lead the session and what his/her role is. Then will pass it on to the facilitators and start the time (2-3 minutes).
- Facilitator: you start by introducing yourself to the group in 30 seconds – [Hi, I’m… and I work for…as… At (company name) we help you out by doing….]
- There is a Sealed Envelope underneath the table mat with 3 Questions and a “Do Not Open Until Instructed To Do So” label. The facilitator reveals the surprise by asking everyone to lift their mat and discover the envelope. (“there is a surprise under your mat, please lift it and see what it is…”) Every envelope carries 3 different questions, so no attendee will be asked the same question asked to someone else at the same table. The aim is to break the ice in an interesting and unique way and establish a positive mood in the group, while keeping everyone’s focus and attention high.
- At your [the facilitator] go, they can open it and read the questions, then you [the facilitator] call one person at the time by their name on the badge, the attendee asks the questions to the person in front of them at the table by calling him/her by the name on the badge. Facilitator, you’re allowed to ask further questions to foster conversations (for example, if someone replies with a short concise answer to the question “What is something that you have always wanted to try but never did?” you can ask them “why?” to help them elaborate more.)
(3 minutes max per person – total 30 minutes)
- This is the Full List of 30 Questions For Your Info – remember, each attendee has just 3 questions:
CLICK TO VIEW FULL LIST OF 30 QUESTIONS
- What are 3 things you would like to be doing in 3 years?
- Tell about a family tradition that you enjoy.
- Share a funny thing that happened to you recently.
- When do you feel most peaceful?
- What is something that you have always wanted to try but never did?
- What kind of emergency scares you the most?
- What would you like to receive on your next birthday?
- Complete this statement: “Something I really appreciate is . .. .”
- Give 3 reasons why you like yourself.
- What do you like best about your personality? Why?
- Talk about something beautiful you saw this week.
- Tell about a mistake you have made recently.
- What is something that scares you?
- Complete this sentence: “My favorite time of day is . . . . because . . .”
- Complete the sentence: “My favorite kind of music is . . .”
- Talk about competition
- Complete the sentence: “I am the kind of person who . . .”
- Complete the sentence: “When I am in a large group, I . . . .”
- What is one thing you could do to improve your life?
- What freedom do you value the most?
- Complete the sentence: “I hope . . .”
- Share one of your strengths and one of your weaknesses.
- Share a recent news story that has captured your interest.
- How do you act when you want to avoid doing something?
- If you could spend one whole day with your best friend, what would you like to do?
- What have you done in the last 3 months that makes you proud?
- Talk about your temper and what you do when you lost it.
- What would you like to achieve with your life?
- How do you decide between right and wrong?
- What inscription do you want on your gravestone? (While some of the other questions focus on what has happened in the past, this question let’s you know how they want their future to play out. When they look back on their life, what do they want to have accomplished.)
- What is a cause that is worth dedicating your life to? (What are they passionate about? What do they think is most important? This question will help you figure out the answer to these questions and more.)
- Is it okay to sacrifice one life to save ten? (This is straight up an ethics question. You can see how close you both are in your ethical beliefs)
- How much do you change when you know no one is around? (We all put on masks for different social situations. Sometimes those masks resemble who we are underneath and sometimes they don’t. Hopefully this question will help you get a glimpse of who the person truly is)
- After all table members asked and replied to the questions, Facilitator asks then each member what is the thing they’re most proud of regarding this season of comeback and what are they willing to work on in the coming months. (puts everyone in the right mood – 2 min max per person – 20 min)- End of Session with a round of applause to congratulate the group.
2-3. HELP & SUPPORT SESSIONS
These are the 2 Core Sessions where each table will get to work on a specific topic. The format will remain the same for each session. You as the facilitator will seat at a different table each session, so you get to engage with as many attendees as possible.
Tables will be numbered. You will see which table you seat at each session directly from within the VRWS APP,(that will be released in September) so please make sure you download it on your mobile phone (we will notify you as soon as the app becomes available).
The Macro Areas of work for the 2 Core Sessions will revolve around topics going from Growth, to Operations, Tech Stack, Marketing, Safety & Guest Experience.
Basically, the attendees will bring on the table their biggest struggle in relation to any of these areas and a short debate will arise among attendees, with your supervision and guidance.
Time: 60 minutes
Timekeeper: Appoint one person at the table as timekeeper with his/her mobile phone timer and tell him/her to call the time at 1 minute left in the 5 minute per person slot.
- Facilitator: you start by introducing yourself to the group in 30 seconds – [Hi, I’m… and I work for…as… At (company name) we help you out by doing….]
- You call on each member one by one, asking to introduce themselves to you (and to the group if they haven’t done it already in a previous session)
- In 30 seconds you tell the group the Macro Area the roundtable will be about, summarize and explain to the group what you’re all going to work on in the next hour…[“In this session we’ll focus on (growth, marketing, guest experience, etc. based on your chosen area) I’m going to start with one individual” – and you call one in the group by name to ask if he/she wants to start and share his/her hurdle or challenge with his/her business in 30 seconds – “when the question is up we will begin 4 ½ Minutes of Q&A. If someone in the group has a thought or some experience/suggestion to share on how to solve this challenge, raise your hand and I’ll call on you, I will keep going back and forth and at the very end, I will ask you (the member who’s on call) for your single takeaway. Alright? So we’re ready to begin…give ourselves a round of applause! Let’s get started and…3,2,1 go!”]
- After the member shared his/her challenge you’ll ask someone else at random in the group to rephrase the question to see if all members understood it and the person who shared the challenge will confirm or explain the challenge in a better way.
- You can pick up someone in the group to answer first – this way you break the ice. Then you can continue by calling in another group member.
- You can foster conversation by asking: “who is also in the same position? What did you do?” or “Raise your hand who does A and who does B”.
- At the end of 4’ 30”, ask the member what the takeaway is. Then ask what the next steps are he/she’s going to take or what’s the action item. Suggest him/her to write it down if they didnt’ do it already.
- Repeat with every group member.
6. WRAP UP SESSION
Time: 50-60 Minutes
- Antonio introduces the last session, then hands it on to the facilitators and calls the time.
- Facilitator: you start by introducing yourself to the group in 30 seconds – [Hi, I’m… and I work for…as… At (company name) we help you out by doing….]
- Facilitator asks then the table member to take (3-5) minutes and write down 3-5 key takeaways from the two days and an action plan to implement those takeaways. Action Plan follows the Goals Setting SMARTER framework that will be given by Antonio to all attendees on the table – see sample here.
- Facilitator calls in one member at a time and asks them to read out their takeaways and the implementation plan (goals).
- End Session with a round of applause.