At Learn.Community we host Community AMAs (Ask Me Anything sessions) monthly. They’re an opportunity for our members to ask me any questions they have about building their communities.
Whilst the sessions have been reasonably popular, they always felt a little one-sided. ‘Ask Me’ didn’t feel very inclusive. I was the only one giving answers, and the group largely sat silent. It certainly wasn’t very interactive.
A simple strategy to make Community AMAs more interactive
This past week, I adapted our AMA call format, changing it to become a ‘Community Q&A’. This meant that rather than only me answering questions, I actively encouraged people on the call to help provide answers. I still gave my answers, but only after several other members had given theirs first.
Previously, I had a fear that members may not feel comfortable contributing answers, or perhaps they might lack the experience required to confidently offer value.
This session immediately allayed those concerns.
Our members had really insightful, well-thought-out, excellent answers.
Not only that, but they all brought perspectives and ideas that I wouldn’t have considered myself. The beauty of a strong community is the varied opinions and experiences of the members. It’s our job as community leaders to make these opinions heard.
The feedback from the call spoke for itself.
The Q&A call saw record interaction levels, an improved and more varied quality of answer and generally had a great atmosphere about it. We will definitely be using this format in future.
So, if your Community AMAs are feeling a little tired, why not actually involve your members more? They’ll probably thank you for it.
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