INFORMATION FOR VOLUNTEERS

THIS NEEDS TO BE SENT TO ALL VOLUNTEERS IN ADVANCE AND COPY SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE FOLDER LEFT AT THE CAFE:

1. The cafe has a folder with all the things you need for the session.

2. Each folder contains a couple of sheets saying "Welcome to Cafe Conversations" (preferably laminated) to lay on the table/s before people start arriving.

3 There are also several sheets of stickers and a felt tip pen to make name labels. Don't forget to put one on yourself before people turn up.

4. Each folder has (laminated) question sheets, numbered 1-7. There are 3 of each number. Please don't let anyone take them away.

5. I suggest that each group of three, or maximum four, people is handed one question sheet as a starting point. They can use it however they wish. Some groups work their way down the list, some pass it round so each person gets to choose a question they like the look of. The volunteers can bring questions of their own, based on something they have heard or read that week, (not politics which can be too divisive). It is fine if the conversation goes off at a tangent as long as everyone is happy and participating.

6. If someone seems to be dominating the conversation, I say, gently, "let's see what the others have to say about this"

7. Twenty minutes before the end of the session, you can choose to bring the whole group together and ask each person what they got out of it and if they'd like anything to be done differently. Only one person to speak at a time!

You can be the judge of whether that's the right thing to do.

8. If someone a bit more vulnerable, or deaf, comes along, one of the volunteers may need to sit alone with that person to make sure they remain engaged.

9. Please make sure that everything is returned to the folder at the end of the session and it remains at the cafe for the following week.

10. It's helpful if one of the volunteers sits close to the door and facing it, so they can get up and greet latecomers easily.