Announcement: Group Mod Challenge
Hello Moderator Team
I’ve got a challenge for you! Are you ready?
- Take a look at the communication styles as shown in the image above. Which four of the styles fit your communication style best? Let us know that in the comments below!
- Find a mod to partner up with to go mod and foster healthy conversation in the chat rooms for half an hour at least 6 times in a two-week span.
- Observe and take notes on the communication approach of your mod partner and the mod partner will be doing the same for you. (Please note that communication styles and approaches can and will vary and that’s alright!)
- Participate in the Group Mod Zone Room and compare your notes and share with fellow mods to learn about each others’ communication styles. Also, share the vibe of the room you both were modding to share in the Mod Room. The vibe of the room here means how was the room environment at the start of joining and when you left. You could share it on a scale of 1-10 where 1 would be “Meh” and 10 as “Awesome”.
Your mod partner can be:
- Any community moderator on shift (just let them know 1-1 before you join as a partner with them on their shift).
- A fellow community-centered chat room moderator of the same community who could be present at the same time as you will be able to participate in the room.
- A global moderator who could be present at the same time as you will be able to participate in the room.
To complete the challenge of visiting and moderating the rooms at least six times in a two-week span, your mod partner can be different if the same mod partner can’t be present. If you have more than one partner, you will simply take notes of different mods' communication styles and approaches and share them with them and fellow moderators in the group mod zone.
Every time you complete one session, drop it in the comments of this thread to log your active participation.
The goal of this challenge:
- Identify your own communication approach in the group dynamics and how it changed/evolved as the situation in the room changed.
- Identify how having a partner with you changed/ helped to foster a supportive and compassionate environment in the chatroom.
- What were the challenges? What surprised you? What type of communication approach works best for you?
At the end of this two-week challenge, you will receive information for the next one! And at the end of the quarter, the top 3 chat room moderators who complete all the challenges successfully will be awarded the most prestigious award: Award-Winning Mod!
Criteria of Award-Winning Mod
- Being passionate about group support chat rooms
- Being compassionate and engaging with the community members
- Being professional and ensure the safety of the room
- Using active listening and de-escalation with all chat participants.
- Being supportive to the fellow chat room moderators and room supports
- Being an open-minded communicator
- Being yourself and having fun while being there in the rooms.
Fun fact! To this day, only 12 chat room moderators have earned this exclusive award! And for extra incentive, every chat room moderator will be awarded 100 cheers per activity they complete.
I am signing up for the challenge and I invite every moderator to accept the challenge too! May we grow together as the best moderators of the community!
Activity 1
Partner: @jovialButterfly6752
Session date: April 15th, 2021
Session time: 9:30am-10:00am
Room: General Support
Notes: I'd say that Jovi and I are both socializers in terms of communication styles. We both focused on keeping the participants active and engaged throughout the session. We were also able to be ourselves without restrictions. The vibe of the room was great throughout the session. It was great modding with them because we're similar in our communication styles so the duty of co-hosting felt like a breeze and was also fun! Thanks for being a great co-host. I'm ready for another one when you are!
Activity #2
Partner: @competentParadise6344
Session date: April 14th, 2021
Session time: 2:45 - 3:30
Room: Teen Community Room
Notes: It was so lovely seeing Para at work in the Teen Community Room! They definitely had a Socializer style, and could really put people at ease, but was never afraid to gently remind of the rules when it was necessary.
Activity #3
Partner: @richuyulin
Session date: April 14th, 2021
Session time: 8:30 - 9:00pm
Room: Member Community Room
Notes: Lin labelled me as a socializer within the room, and I think I agree. Lin seemed to act as both a thinker and relator, bridging the two as needed. Because the room wasn’t super busy, it was more difficult to work with two mods, since we’d often give the same reminder, but we did get into the swing of things and it got easier.
Activity #3
Partner - @AlwaysEli
Date - 15th April
Time - 2pm
Room - teen community room
Notes -when we joined the room there was an other mod in and the room was pretty quiet. I was the thinker there, again, as every time. Always and Anne both was more acting as relator. i was the one enforcing more the rules. my style doesnt seems change much from a room or session to the other.
Activity #10
Partner: @CommunityModRobin
Session date: April 15th, 2021
Session time: 11:00am-12:00pm
Room: Sharing Circle
Notes: The session didn't go as smoothly as usual. I took primary lead in sorting out the situation, and realized I could have done A LOT better after a de-brief session with my mentor. I'm glad I had the opportunity to learn from experience.
In terms of style, I don't think any one category would be accurate to describe Robin as I've seen them adjust style to match scenario in various scenarios. Though I would guess their main style to be socializer. I'm still trying to figure what my style is. I guess I've been a bit all over the place.
Activity #1
Partner - @vivelespatates
Date - 15th April
Time - 2pm
Room - I discusses things with vive and I definitely think that they are correct in me being a relator. I think this is partially due to the fact that I am only a few years older then them , and I care a lot about the social side of moderating, not just using the tools but actively talking to and getting to know the people in the rooms ^^
Activity #11
Partner: @LuLuRings
Session date: April 15th, 2021
Session time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Room: Family & Caregiver
Notes: We did a pop-up open chat discussion and the session went well. ^_^ We were really in sync and worked well together. This some what surprised me because our moderations styles are somewhat different. Lulu's moderation style is socializer while I'm more of a thinker. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to host with you!
Session #2
Partner: @AnnaListens06
Date of Session: 15th April 2021 (EST)
Time of Session : 4.30pm- 5 pm (EST)
Room: Support Room 24/7
Notes: It was a good session with Anna. We were in sr with one member to begin with discussing a topic I have eperience with and Anna didn't so she mostly observed while I was supporting the member, she chimed in when she felt she could contribute. I feel that during this session Anna was more of a relator and a took more time to think about the situation before acting. Although you can definitely still tell she is a socialiser. The vibe of the session was sitting around an 8 because it was calm and supportive but we ended up with a good few people chatting. Thank you Anna for partnering with me.
@LoveLilly
Session #2
Partner: @LoveLilly
Date of Session: 15th April 2021 (EST)
Time of Session : 4.30pm- 5 pm (EST)
Room: Support Room 24/7
It was another healthy and productive session with the amazing lilly. At first I struggled with a topic a member brought up but luckily Lilly had a lot of experience dealing with it so I spend a little time observing until I felt comfortable chipping in. In this session I was more a relator, absorbing it in before I reacted, taking a losw and steady approach but yes with regualr faces i am still a socializer. Lilly was Amazing, again I would say she was more of a relator in this session. She was kind, listened well and made the members feel supported. the room was around an 8 for me it was quite calm and all members were supported. Thank you lilly again
Activity #2
Partner: @AnnaTess 👻
Session date: April 14th, 2021
Session time: approx 9 am ET
Room: Member Community Room
Notes: AnnaTess uses a very friendly and casual style. A verbal warning was given and I observe how the conversation style can change from casual to more strict and distant from casual style of conversion.
I've observed it in my chats too which depends on circumstances and how much is going on.
I'm becoming more confident in my hypothesis that most of mods are not moderating within one clear category of moderation style. It can change very fluently.
We all have different 'masks' and we put them on in different situations and within different circumstances.
Activity #12
Partner: @AnnaTess
Session date: April 15th, 2021
Session time: 5:00pm-6:00pm
Room: Sharing Circle
Notes: We co-hosted Sharing Circle session. I would say it was a productive and supportive session for the members. We discussed and came to the conclusion that our styles remained the same even though we switched to a different room. Anna was still socializer style while I'm a mix of thinker and relator.
Activity #13
Partner: @crystalclearnow
Session date: April 15th, 2021
Session time: 8:00pm-9:00pm
Room: Sharing Circle
Notes: We co-hosted Sharing Circle session. I think crystal's moderation style is thinker where as for me, I was a mix between thinker and relator again. As a fairly new mod who's still finding her way, I'm now starting to think my consistent and perferable style is a mix between thinker and relator. And that I occassaionaly change into socializer style depending on scenario.