The Common Ground Network for Life and Choice Manual

may be particularly concerned that confidentiality be preserved. If in this final session
you mention this potential concern, and briefly review the ground rule about
confidentiality, you create an opening for participants to express any anxiety of this type.
The closing session is also the point to address “what’s next?” If planners are
prepared to support it, participants can be asked if there is interest in meeting again. This
may come up naturally in the discussion. Our advice is to have people sign up then and
there and if possible, decide on a follow-up date and meeting place. Momentum
sometimes gets lost if things are left to later follow-up. If the workshop has been
sponsored by a group already meeting on a regular basis, participants can be invited to the
next scheduled meeting.
Last, it is important that the group experience closure to the workshop. A closing
ritual creates an ending to the workshop that feels complete and inclusive. The closing
ritual we use has participants generate an image or metaphor that expresses how each
person has experienced the day. This closing allows participants to be creative and
concise in conveying important feelings and insights.
The Facilitator Schedule, Appendix 4.2, contains directions for leading this closing
session.
Workshop Evaluation
Getting feedback from participants and facilitators is essential. This information
tells you what the most valuable part of the workshop was and what, if anything, did not
work.
We recommend asking participants to fill out a short written evaluation before the
workshop closes. To get feedback from the facilitators, we like to have a meeting
immediately after the workshop, where we pose questions about such things as the
sufficiency of the pre-workshop orientation and the workshop schedule and format. You