Let’s Talk Over Coffee!

© Copyright. LaFortune University. 2019. All rights reserved.

Welcome, and thank you all for taking the time to attend tonight’s event. The
purpose of this networking event is to help students and faculty interact with one
another in an informal setting. To break the ice, so to say, since many of you will be
seeing each other during the semester. We hope that this networking event will help
you – whether you’re a student or an instructor – become more comfortable in
speaking with one another.

That’s why our topic for today will be on student – faculty interactions. And as the
title of our event suggests, there is indeed coffee and refreshments, so please feel
free to help yourself to them if you haven’t yet!

1
 Schedule for the Day

6:30 PM – 7:00 PM Registration

7:00 PM – 7:10 PM Welcome
7:10 PM – 7:50 PM Phase 1 – Home Round (Parts A – B)
7:50 PM – 8:05 PM Break
8:05 PM – 8:30 PM Phase 2 – Travelling Round
8:30 PM – 8:50 PM Phase 3 – Return to Home Round
8:50 PM – 9:05 PM Final Phase – Town Meeting Style

This is the schedule for the event, which is to be distributed to the participants when
they register for the event.

2
 The “Agreements”
1. Open-mindedness
2. Acceptance
3. Curiosity
4. Discovery
5. Sincerity
6. Brevity

Reference:
The complete hosting manual. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.conversationcafe.org/the-complete-hosting-manual/

The “Agreements” are the rules and guidelines that participants are expected to
follow when they engage in the discussions. The “Agreements” ensure a safe and
respectful environment for discussion, so please be sure to go through these
“Agreements” before beginning moving on to the next slide.

Reference:
The complete hosting manual. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.conversationcafe.org/the-complete-hosting-manual/

3
 Process
• Phase 1: Home round (Parts A – B)
• Phase 2: Travelling round
• Phase 3: Return to home
• Final phase: Whole group discussion

Reference:
The Let’s Talk America Café: Hosting a large group dialogue. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.conversationcafe.org/wp-content/docsPDF/docVariationLTALetsTalkAmerica.pdf

- Talking object: The stone in the middle of the table is your talking object. The
person holding the talking object has the right to speak freely without being
interrupted.
- Phase 1: Home Round (Parts A- B): The Home Round will be divided into two parts
– Part A and Part B. Part A will consist of brief responses to the discussion
questions (see Appendix F for the discussion questions), after which the
participants will elaborate on their responses. Part B will consist of a reflection
period where they collect their thoughts silently.
- Phase 2: Travelling round: 1 person remains at the table as the host whereas the
others will be asked to "travel" a different table for another round of dialogue.
- Phase 3: Return to home: Another round of dialogue will take place where
participants will return to their original tables and talk about the insights they have
gained from their "travels" to the other tables.
- Final Phase: Whole group discussion: This will consist of a whole group discussion.

4
 Discussion questions
 How would you define an interaction? What
characterizes an interaction?
 Describe your past experiences in interacting with a
professor or students. What was the most memorable
interaction you had with them? What made it
memorable?
 What are some potential misunderstandings in
communication that may occur between students and
faculty?

These are the discussion questions that the participants are expected to answer and
discuss during all four phases, namely:
- Phase 1: Home Round
- Phase 2: Travelling Round
- Phase 3: Return to Home
- Final Phase: Whole Group Discussion