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2 • Buzz Sessions - Part 1

The "Buzz" technique was originally developed as a device, for large groups, to encourage full-audience participation in dis­cussions. Its originator was Dr. J. Donald Phillips, of Hillsdale College in Michigan. His concept of the technique was that groups of six persons would discuss a problem or assigned topic for six minutes. Hence it has been tagged with such names as "Discussion 66" "Phillips 66 Sessions," and "66 Buzzing." But the most popular term is the simple "Buzz Group."

The basic goal of the technique is to gain democratic participa­tion in a meeting or conference. Instead of a discussion controlled by a minority who may simply be more vocal than the other members, without having more to contribute, the Buzz session is intended to allow everyone to participate. It starts with a discus­sion target in the form of a carefully prepared question on a spe­cific point, and has both a stated objective (the answer to the question; or suggestions for action; or a recommendation) and a limited time in which to reach that objective. It is an extremely flexible technique and can be used in many ways. In its original form, for large audiences, it has been used during the traditional question-and-answer period following a speech; it has been used as the basis for an entire meeting; and it has been used in con­junction with other more standard discussion and participation devices. Here is the way it can be applied to an audience of even hundreds of persons:

Start by dividing the audience into groups of six, using any convenient method of doing so. A very simple method is just to tell the audience to "Look around you and find five other people." Another is to have them "count off" by sixes. Ask each group to appoint a chairman and a secretary. (The chairman's job is to see that all members of the group have an opportunity to partici­pate in the discussion and idea production, and that the group keeps moving toward its objective so that it will reach a definite conclusion at the end of the given time period. The secretary records such notes as seem pertinent to the subject at hand, or, if the purpose is straight idea production, he records the list of ideas produced.)

The chairman should be instructed to see that every member of his group is acquainted with every other member. The organized groups are then given six minutes to discuss a specific problem, or decide on specific questions, or arrive at specific recommendations. When the discussion time has elapsed, the group is then given an additional few minutes, if necessary, to screen their ideas or syn­thesize the thinking. Each secretary then reports the conclusions or ideas of his group to the entire membership of the audience as the summarized thinking of the six people.

Although the original purpose of the Buzz technique was for large-audience use, it has quickly found acceptance, in modified forms, as a business-conference technique. The two key princi­ples of a stated objective and a limited time to reach that objective can give regular business meetings discipline and objectiveness that most do not ordinarily have. When used this way, the official leadership of the group generally evolves upon the man who called for the meeting in the first place. It then becomes his responsibility to enforce both the principle of democratic participation and the principle that the group will progress toward a stated goal without digressions or distraction. In most such adaptations of the Buzz technique, the six-minute time limit is changed to a longer interval in order to obtain a full discussion in depth of the problem or situation.

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