Good Practice Mentors: Informal conversational strategies to talk about loneliness and isolation
The Good Practice Mentor team invite you to join them for a practical workshop session, exploring informal conversational strategies to talk about loneliness, isolation and capture insight from people less likely to access formal groups, activities, services and support.
Based on a proactive outreach approach to finding and engaging people out in the community – including on the streets and on the doorstep, this session will introduce you to practical conversational strategies and what questions to ask, to gain a picture of an person's social world and connections. We’ll also discuss how the approach can be adapted as a tool for social action research, to inform community building and to provide a ‘nudge’ towards participation.
During the workshop you’ll hear about:
• The value of weak social ties and informal feeling conversations – making the most of your interaction
• Key conversational indicators of loneliness and isolation and how to respond
• Using a light-touch conversational approach to build rapport and to ask the person about their social world and connections and how they would like to connect with others
• How to provide a ‘nudge’ towards participation and community connection
• Effective tools and techniques to informally manage the interaction including bringing conversations to a positive close
• Adapting the approach for social action research to capture insight from the people you are less likely to meet in other settings