ABCD-Training-of-Trainers-Tools-July-2013

Interviewers should ask the following questions as appropriate (also found in the Training Materials
Guide):
• Tell me a story about a time when your community worked together to get something done without
help from outsiders; a time when you felt the group was really at its best; when energy and
enthusiasm were particularly high.
• What can you tell me about the people involved? What characteristics did they have that helped
make it successful?
• What other characteristics of this community helped to make it successful?
• What was it about you that made it successful?
After about 15 minutes, ask the three persons in the team to discuss what they have learned about the
reasons for this community’s success. Give them five minutes to do this.
Then, bring the whole group back together. Invite the whole group to discuss the following questions:
1. How did it feel to be interviewed?
2. How did it feel to be the interviewer?
Note the comments on a flipchart. Some of the comments can usually be related to the following points:
• “It felt good to talk about successes as opposed to problems.”
• “I enjoyed listening to other people’s point of view.”
• “Asking about successes created a positive energy and feelings of pride.”
• “I have never asked these questions before.”
• “I felt like I was genuinely listening.”
Invite the whole group to say what they have learned from this activity. Remind the participants that
Appreciative Interviewing is one tool they can use when doing ABCD at the community level. At the
community level, you would ask participants to share their stories and try to come up with some
common themes that emerged from them.
Conclude by asking why participants think appreciative interviewing is important?
Note for facilitators: Appreciative interviewing at the community level will usually excite a few people
who want to see their community driving the development process in the present and future. These
people may be interested in forming an organizing committee to steer an ABCD approach forward to
the next stage (documenting the community’s assets and acting on the opportunities identified). Some
of these individuals may agree to sit on such a committee and/or help to recruit other communityminded
members.
How facilitators can help to create an organizing committee at the community level:
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