Fishbowl/Expert Interviews

Create an inner space for the individual or team who are the focus of the fishbowl, and an outer area around the inner space composed of small groups (3-5 people per group). Decide whether a neutral “interviewer” would be helpful, especially in the case of an individual being the focus. The interviewer may facilitate the discussion by asking questions (Expert Interview), probing, and facilitating the conversation.

Facilitator / interviewer introduces the focus topic and explains the format of the fishbowl.

The focus team (or interviewer and expert) explore and discuss the topic, probing, exploring what went well and could have been done differently, what they learned, etc. This discussion occurs as if the observing audience were not present. The audience listens and may take notes.

The observing audience spends a few minutes (perhaps using 1-2-4) writing down and consolidating their observations and questions. The groups turn their observations / questions over to the focus group, and the focus group then answers / discusses those comments, now interacting directly with the audience.

Debrief. When all groups have shared their questions, another 1-2-4-All is conducted which includes the focus team. The prompt is, “based on what we’ve shared, discussed, and learned, what could we or should we do next?” Once the responses have been shared and clarified, they can be placed on a board and prioritized by using Dot Voting.