How Does It Work? Format Description
The moderator begins with an introduction to the topic and a warm-up exercise, such as asking the audience to raise their hands: Who has heard of …? Who has not? Who has a strong opinion …? etc.
Roles (stakeholders, interest groups) are pre-selected—ideally four. Each participant chooses which role they want to engage with. It is recommended that participants take on a role different from their everyday perspective. The audience splits into four groups, each aligning with one of the roles, positioned in different corners of the space, while the moderator remains in the centre. Participants try to identify with their chosen role—considering its viewpoints and needs.
Each role presents itself by describing its behaviour, goals, and needs. The moderator observes whether there are hidden or surprising needs that could influence other perspectives and identifies deeper, essential needs. Each role also shares what makes it difficult for them to understand the other roles or what questions they would like answered.
In the next stage, all participants switch to a different role and repeat the same process—analysing their new role, sharing its needs, and asking other roles key questions.
The moderator concludes the sociodrama with a short summary. This method can also be combined with a game-show format, where four individuals act as guessers, and the audience is divided into four corresponding groups.
What Do Discussion Participants Do?
All participants are actively engaged from the start and embody at least two roles to better understand the deeper needs underlying perspectives they may not have previously considered.
What If There Are Invited Speakers?
There are no separate speakers.
What Is the Moderator’s Role?
In preparation, the moderator must identify and define four key relevant roles (stakeholders, perspectives, viewpoints, or interest groups).
Number and Profile of Participants
Ideally, there should be around 20 participants so that the moderator can effectively manage role adoption, role changes, and dialogue.
If you need guidance in selecting or applying a discussion format, contact your discussion area coordinator.