How to lead a skill share.

Skill Shares – a model that comes from the disability community that believes that all people have something to contribute. Unlike a traditional education model that would have a teacher and require students to listen, skill shares assume that processing out loud how to solve a problem, sharing ideas together about resources and what has worked for participants will often be more useful for people with common needs, disabilities or social economic backgrounds.

Skill Share Process:
1- Get feedback from the group about what kind of skill shares they would be interested in attending or leading.

2- Let the community know that you will be hosting a group on a topic suggested by them.

3- Center the group around a “How To” (ie a support group, how to read letters from the government, how to make tea, etc)

4- Open the group by briefly introducing yourself, and outlining the boundaries, how long the class will be and what will happen.
Example: Hi, my name is Hank Williams, I’m the staff person here at the garden. Today we’re having an addiction recovery support group. I’m an adult child of an alcoholic, addiction runs in my family, but I’ve never had to seriously struggle with addiction issues. I believe that because you have lived with addiction that you are the experts. You know what has worked for you and what hasn’t. In my own life, I find that I often learn a lot from hearing from other people’s experiences. So today, for the next 45 min, you can share what has worked, what hasn’t worked (because sometimes that’s more helpful to share), what is difficult and what you want to celebrate. My role in the group is to help maintain a safe space and to be a resource if you need it.

5- The facilitator can participate in the group (as is appropriate for the group and setting) and model participation in the group. Often sharing a story to answer a question gets the conversation started or helps people who are new to know what kind of answers you are looking for.

6- Ask the group: what has worked for you? Is there anything we should celebrate this week?

7- Ask the group: what have you tried that wasn’t as helpful as you hoped? And what’s hard for you about this topic?

8- Ask the group: What resources do you know about that can be helpful for others about the topic?

9- Ask the group: Are there any resources you need that would be helpful? This question can help create conversation when others in the group know about resources and can support each other.

10- Ask the group: does anyone need support this week or have anything they want the group to check in with them about next week?

11- Ending the group at the time announced at the beginning of the meeting is a way to respect the participants and to build trust. Thank people for attending and let them know you hope they will come back again next week. Let people know if you have time to continue talking later or what is expected of them at the end of the group.

12- Encourage individuals who attend often or who have skills to lead or co-lead the skill shares. Leadership encourages people to take ownership of the group and helps people come back each week.