fishbowldiscussions-instructions

Fishbowl Discussions
Toolkit

Instructions + Materials

Relevant Research

Stories From the Field

Ask Us a Question

Evaluation Materials

OPTIONAL: Use these materials to evaluate the impact of this toolkit.

BEFORE doing the toolkit activities, give participants the Pre-toolkit Survey.

Then after completing the activities, participants will take the Post-toolkit Survey.

Toolkit Instructions

Step 1: Introduce discussion norms (10 min.)

Facilitators should complete the Are You Ready To Talk? toolkit before moderating a fishbowl discussion.

OPTIONAL: If you want to evaluate the impact of this toolkit, you will need participants to complete the pre-toolkit survey before doing the toolkit activities and the post-toolkit survey after doing the activities.

A norm is a guideline for how to behave in a situation. To help participants feel comfortable asking and answering sensitive questions, explain the following four norms for fishbowl discussions. These slides and the script below explain the four norms.

1. Build spaces that are both brave and safe

“Exploring our identities and talking about our differences requires honesty, courage, and, often, discomfort. And so aim to create a brave space, where people can speak their minds and challenge their own and each other’s assumptions.

“To be brave, people must feel safe. And to feel safe, people must feel that they will not be personally attacked or ridiculed and that they will be treated with dignity and respect.”

2. Use I-statements

“I-statements include I feel, I believe, I think, I read, I learned in school, and so on. Using I-statements has two good effects. First, I-statements make you ask yourself, Why do I think and feel this way? This reflection can lead to greater self-knowledge, which in turn can help you have better conversations with people different from yourself.

“Second, I-statements help you avoid portraying what you think, feel, and do as the only or best thoughts, feelings, and actions. This bit of humility opens our minds to others while also making others feel more comfortable sharing with us.

“Consider the I-statements and their alternatives below:

“I’ve read many scientific studies suggesting that race is a social construction, not a biological fact” vs. “Science shows that race is a myth, and anyone who doesn’t believe this is ignorant.”
“When you say that women are inferior, I feel angry” vs. “You are sexist.”
“I have read in the Bible that people suffer because God is punishing them” vs. “People suffer because God is punishing them.”

3. Understand your intention and own your impact

“We often praise people for having good intentions. But the consequences of our actions are at least as important as our motivations. So before asking a question or making a comment, consider not only what you want or mean, but also how your words will affect others.

“Remember that some people routinely face negativity because of prejudice against them and therefore may respond differently to an experience you have in common.

“For example, our good intentions could lead us to praise the intelligence of a woman or a person of color. But the impact of this praise may be negative if the recipient infers that you are surprised they are smart.

“These kinds of mistakes are common and are often unintentional. Show people you care about their feelings and perspectives even when you don’t fully understand or agree.”

4. Make space, take space

“Some of us are more talkative, while some of us are more introverted. If you tend toward chattiness, make sure to make space for others to speak. One practice is to count to ten before diving in with a comment. If you tend to be on the shy side, remember that your experience is valuable and contribute more when you can.

“Can everyone agree to follow these norms?”

For additional guidance, see the Are You Ready to Talk? toolkit.

Next step

Step 2

Step 2: Guide participants into groups (5-10 min.)

To host a fishbowl discussion, you will need to help participants split into at least two groups along a social identity dimension. Social identities are those parts of a person’s self-concept that come from their associations with particular groups. Each person has many social identities, reflecting their connections with nations, regions, religions, genders, ethnicities, social classes, political parties, majors, professions, and hobbies.

1. Choose a social identity dimension to explore

If participants are not very familiar with each other, you may want to choose a social identity dimension that they have some experience and comfort with discussing, such as hobbies, majors, or where they grew up. If your participants know each other well or have experience exploring identities and cultures, you may choose a more sensitive dimension, such as race or religion.

2. Create groups

In a fishbowl discussion, two groups ask each other questions. Yet most dimensions of identity include many groups. For instance, gender includes not only man and woman, but also transgender, agender, non-binary, genderqueer, and other identities.

To conduct a fishbowl discussion, you and your group will need to decide how to subdivide into two groups of at least three people each. Below we list four ways to do this. Note that participants should select for themselves which group to join and should not be forced to join a group.

Here are four ways to make fishbowl groups:

Two-group Version. Possible two-group divisions include:

People without siblings & People with siblings
People on athletic teams & People not on athletic teams
People who make art or music & People who do not make art or music
People from the East or West regions of the U.S. & People from the South or Midwest regions
People who have lived abroad & People who have lived only in the U.S.
Men & People with other genders
Christians & People with other religions
Liberals & People with other political affiliations
First-generation students & Continuing-generation students
Middle-class people & People with other social class identities
People with disabilities & People without disabilities
White people & People of color
Heterosexuals & People with other sexual orientations

Spotlight Version. A variant of the Two-group Version, the Spotlight Version splits participants into identity groups based on one category. For example “race” could divide into East Asian, Latinx, White, Black and African American, Native and Indigenous, etc. For the “fishbowls,” one group at a time sits in the inner circle, and the other groups combine and sit in the outer circle.

Intersectional Spotlight Version. In this variant of the Spotlight version, an intersectional identity group, such as “Queer women of color” or “White male athletes,” sits in the inner circle, while participants who do not have the intersectional identity sit in the outside circle.

Mini-fishbowl Version. Participants divide themselves into many groups based on one identity category and pair up to form multiple simultaneous fishbowls. For instance, to explore the dimension of religion, participants can create three mini-fishbowls with the following six identity groups:

Atheists & Christians
Jews & Hindus
Buddhists & Muslims

Previous Step | Next Step

Step 3

Step 3: Develop questions (5-15 min.)

Participants will next develop questions to ask each other. Below are two different methods for developing questions.

Individual Method. This is the fastest and simplest way to develop questions, but it does not allow participants to interact with people in their own identity group. This method also makes the questions anonymous, which has both pluses and minuses.

Give each participant a note card and a pen. Ideally, all participants will have identical note cards and pens so that the author of each question is difficult to discern.
Ask each Group A participant to write on a notecard one question they want to ask Group B participants, and each Group B participant to write one question they want to ask Group A participants. Questions should be for the group as a whole, and not for an individual member. Encourage participants to be mindful of the impact of their question on people in the other group.

Group Method. This option takes more time than the Individual Method, but it allows people in an identity group to talk among themselves.

Seat the two (or more) groups apart from each other.
Give one or more participants in each group a pen and note cards.
Instruct the group to curate a set of questions they want to ask the other group (or groups). Questions should be for the group as a whole, and not for an individual member. The number of questions depends on your group sizes and time limits. One rule of thumb is to allow 5-7 minutes per question. And so if you have a total of one hour for the discussion period and two identity groups, ask each group to curate 6 questions (i.e., a half hour of questions per group).
Ask groups to write each question on a note card. Encourage participants to be mindful of the impact of their question on other participants.
Make sure questions cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” Develop questions that encourage people to describe their perspectives.
If using a version with multiple groups, have each group generate a few questions for each of the other groups. Allocate time according to the number of groups you have.

Previous Step | Next Step

Step 4

Step 4: Seat the groups in ‘fishbowls’ of two concentric circles (5 min.)

Group A forms the outside circle, facing inward and toward the backs of members of Group B.

Group B forms the inside circle, facing inward and toward each other.

Participants can sit in chairs, on other furniture, or on the floor.

If you chose the multi-group version, you will seat pairs of groups in this manner. If you have four identity groups, for instance, you will make two “fishbowls.” If you have six identity groups, you will make three “fishbowls.”

The physical layout of a fishbowl discussion is important to its success. Sitting in circles helps participants feel more protected and comfortable. And giving questioners and answerers the same seats equalizes their statuses and roles.

Previous Step | Next Step

Step 5

Step 5: Help Group A ask questions of Group B (30 min.)

Individual Method: If Group A participants developed questions individually:

Collect the note cards from Group A and curate a set for discussion, depending on your time limits. Allocate at least five minutes per question.
Select and read a question. The author of each question should be anonymous.
Let Group B participants respond to the question. Be patient and allow Group B participants to think about their answers. Sometimes Group B participants are hesitant to be the first to answer. Note that Group A participants should remain silent while Group B participants are responding to their questions. Neither group should ask for clarification or elaboration. Encourage all Group B participants to respond to the question. If people are slow to answer, you might say, “Does anyone have something to add? We can wait.” Consider using a stopwatch to mind the time.
Allow at least five minutes of discussion per question, and then move on.
Repeat until you have asked all questions or reached your time limit.
If there is time, ask Group B participants, “Are there any other comments from those who have not yet spoken?”

Group Method: If Group A participants developed questions together:

Invite Group A to ask a question of Group B.
Let Group B participants respond to the question. Be patient and allow Group B participants to think about their answers. Sometimes Group B participants are hesitant to be the first to answer. Note that Group A participants should remain silent while Group B participants are responding to their questions. Neither group should ask for clarification or elaboration. Encourage all Group B participants to respond to the question. If people are slow to answer, the facilitator might say, “Does anyone have something to add? We can wait.” Consider using a stopwatch to mind the time.
Allow at least five minutes of discussion per question, and then move on.
Repeat until Group A has asked all its questions or reached its time limit.
If there is time, ask Group B participants, “Are there any other comments from those who have not yet spoken?”

Previous Step | Next Step

Step 6

Step 6: Help Group A ask questions of Group B (30 min.)

Reseat participants so that Group A participants are now sitting in the inner circle facing in, and Group B participants are now sitting in the outer circle facing in.

Follow the same procedure in Step 5 to help Group B participants ask questions of Group A.

Depending on the number of groups, you may need to repeat this process several times.

Previous Step | Next Step