Week 3 blog post

It's interesting to consider how different conversations turn out in practice compared to when you're planning them. For instance, I set up a loose agenda for my last chat cafe session: 10min introductions and questions, 3 min to write down questions, 15 min activity, etc.

But in the actual conversation, the times I allotted varied sometimes. We spent less time writing down questions and more time during the introduction. I think a way to combat feeling like you're getting off track is to not be too regimented about your chat cafe session. It helps to keep things flexible, so if you get "off track" you're not really in trouble because you didn't have a strict structure to stick to anyway. It helps take the pressure off I think. You don't feel a need to guide the conversation stiffly or awkwardly - you just sort of let it flow.

Now that I know my participants a little better, I sort of know what topics get the most responses (i.e. what was something you experienced this week that surprised you?).

It's interesting to hear from their POV, and it opens my eyes to all the potentially confusing things around campus. It's so easy to assume that everyone will understand something so you don't have to be too specific, but you have to keep in mind that there's a whole audience that may not see it the same way. I'm glad this class is teaching me to be more cognizant of that.