Reflection

The deliberation had a rocky start with two groups researching the same topic and our
group given a one night heads up on presenting earlier than we had planned. Although there were
some minor hiccups, the deliberation ran pretty smoothly once we figured everything out.
From the beginning, we noticed that when put in a group with a larger amount of people,
communication apprehension, or anxiety associated with communication, was felt by not only
members of our group but others as well (Lustig). When we are in our small group, we are
comfortable enough to talk openly with one another mostly due to working with each other in the
past. Although it was more difficult to deliberate in the larger group, it was a lot easier than when
we went to a public deliberation where we were in an unfamiliar space surrounded by unfamiliar
people.
Facilitation is extremely important when having a deliberation. The facilitator is the one
who decides where the conversation will lead, and how to bring it back if it goes off topic. There
are also many different types of facilitators, and everyone in the deliberation fit a different role.
The facilitators within our group were Paige and Zaria, and they were two different kinds of
facilitators. Paige was more of an interviewer, she had specific questions prepared and tried to
help get the participants to a conclusion they would not have been able to get to on their own.
Zaria was more of a referee, she asked questions and let the participants discuss until it felt like
time to introduce a new topic. When looking at the facilitators from other groups it was easy to
tell how well they were doing based on the kind of conversation that was being had, proving that
facilitating is an important job. One facilitator was an interviewer, but they pushed topics that
were too opinionated. It was clear that the participants were getting frustrated with the topic but
the facilitator would not moving on from the question. Other facilitators were more like weavers,
they paid attention to what everyone was saying and built follow up questions off of what they
said. They clearly wanted to get the best understanding of every point that was being brought up
(Facilitation). It was clear by the end of the deliberation that some methods of facilitation worked
much better than others with our group.
During the deliberation it was easy to decipher peoples emotions when certain topics
were brought up. One participant in the deliberation was very passionate about certain topics that
were brought up, and when anyone tried to combat her opinions she would fight them off. It was
very prominent during the second half of the deliberation when the third approach group went.
There was a question that referenced a doctor prescribing four times the required amount of
medication. Several peoples responses were just trying to make sense of why that was relevant
to the topic. This topic was poorly framed which was apparent due to the lack of values being
brought up during the discussion (Traits). This resulted in the discussion turning into what
seemed like a mild debate pretty quickly. One of the deliberators opinions on health care were
very strong, and she even mentioned how she was going into the health field, so she knew a lot
about the topic. This violated two of the main goals of being a facilitator which are remaining
neutral and not acting like an expert (Facilitation). This in turn created an awkward environment
and further enhanced some members communication apprehension.
Another thing we noticed was that several of the questions on the second day of
deliberation were policy based rather than questions based on maintaining quality of life. These
questions did not seem to actually have much to do about maintaining quality of life, instead they
talked about the cons of assisted suicide. One of the traits of successful issue framing was
specifically to avoid dichotomies or in other words not to use the cons of one approach as the
benefits of another (Traits). This also created more of a debate atmosphere since the deliberators
seemed to only have two options in mind, assisted suicide or no assisted suicide.
The third discussion over all was really difficult to properly deliberate because the
questions were confusing and the facilitators were opinionated. However during the first day of
deliberation, the topics went much smoother, the talking seemed more conversational, and
everyone was respectful of each others points. Overall, there were topics that were sore subjects
to some and difficult to talk about, but in general, everyone gave their opinions in an
understanding manner, and we all appreciated everyones different points of view.
From this experience, we were able to see how two different forms of conversation,
deliberation versus debate, flowed differently by comparing the first day to the second day of
deliberation. Being open-minded comes much more naturally when everyone is doing their best
to remain unbiased. This allowed all group members to participate in a proper deliberation which
allowed several goals of deliberation to be met, like looking at perspectives that we have never
considered before and allowing for mutual understanding of each point (Goals of Deliberation).
All of the members of our group share similar opinions when it comes to end of life care, so it
was interesting to hear other peoples points of view. It is important to keep an open mind when
participating in a deliberation because there are some points that are very persuasive; a topic or
opinion could be brought up that can change your perspective. Our groups overall opinion on
end of life care did not really change, but there were many good points mentioned that changed
certain specifics of how we saw end of life care policies being handled. For instance, we had
never considered the possibility of increased suicide rates if assisted suicide was to be introduced
on a mass scale. This point made strict rigid guidelines seem even more necessary.
Overall, we learned a lot about how deliberations can be beneficial when discussing
issues. First of all, it is easier to speak up during a deliberation rather than during a debate.
Typically, deliberations are calmer and more respectful environments than debates are. The
people involved in a deliberation are also able to get a broader understanding of the topic, which
is a huge advantage especially when trying to resolve an issue of concern. If there is an issue that
needs to be resolved, a deliberation is the best way to go about solving it. In deliberations, even
if you come with a set stance about the topic, it is okay to change your mind by the end. When
speaking during a deliberation, it is important to keep responses concise so people do not lose the
point of the statement and to allow other people time to speak about their views and experiences.
Through learning about others personal stories, one can learn about how topics affect others in
ways that may not have directly affected them. The experience taught us that deliberations are
meant to talk through the specific topic thoroughly and help everyone learn about others views
in a very calm and conversational setting.
In general, deliberation is a great way to handle difficult value-based issues. Although it
did not work as well as it could have in our group, deliberation is a good way to let everyone
involved become fully immersed in an issue. Often times people try to push their opinions onto
others when trying to settle an issue. In a true deliberation, no one is trying to force a point of
view. It is simply a peaceful place to voice all sides of a topic. If everyone keeps an open mind,
there is a much better chance of reaching agreement on a controversial issue.

Citations
Henderson, Ben. Goals of Deliberation. Goals of Deliberation, CAS 100B, 27 Feb. 2017, Penn
State University, University Park, PA. Lecture.
Henderson, Ben. Facilitation of Deliberations. CAS 100B, Google Doc. N.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2017.
Henderson, Ben. Traits of Successful Issues Framing. CAS 100B, Google Doc. N.d. Web. 4
Apr. 2017.
Lustig, Myron, et al. Working in Groups. Pearson, 2014.