Designing Inclusive Discussions

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Compare universal design and specific accommodations by prototyping spaces and setting concrete agreements for group conversation.

Use it when: Use when launching a collaborative cohort, committee, or team that needs shared norms and accessible meeting practices.

Skip it when: Skip when the meeting has a brief transactional agenda or lacks time for conceptual analysis and structural design.

Group arrangement: Small groups of 3 to 4 participants, plus whole-room synthesis.

Timing: Source specifies 65 minutes across setup and five steps: 15 min design, 20 min showcase, 15 min discussion design, 5 min showcase, 10 min debrief.

Materials and tools

• Printed client profile slips (one profile per small group; 8 slips provided for up to 8 small groups)
• Printed Designing Inclusive Discussions Worksheets (one per participant)
• Pens or pencils (one per participant)
• Blank scratch paper or flip chart paper for sketching kitchen layouts (one per small group)
• Whiteboard or flip chart and markers for facilitator recording
• Summary chart of group discussion styles (prepared in advance or drawn using the supplied baseline data template)
• Laptops or tablets (one per group if running hybrid, or for all remote participants)
• Shared digital whiteboard platform (required for remote or hybrid sessions)

Before participants arrive

1. Prepare the summary chart of discussion styles. If participants completed a prior style assessment, compile aggregate counts of preferred speaking pace, reflection time, and concerns. If no prior survey exists, post the provided baseline sample chart.
2. Print and cut client profile slips so each small group receives a distinct card.
3. Place blank sketching paper and copies of the worksheet at each table cluster.
4. Arrange seating into small group clusters of 3 to 4 people.

Say this to open

Welcome. We often expect everyone to adapt to a standard environment, whether that is a workspace, a kitchen, or a meeting. Today we will design a kitchen for a client with specific physical needs, explore where those designs conflict, and apply universal design principles to build a discussion process that works for all of us. Keep your assigned client secret from other groups for now.

How to run it

1. Design a client kitchen 15 minutes

   Form groups of 3 or 4. Deliver the opening script. Hand each group one client profile card secretly. Instruct teams to use scratch paper and Part 1 of the worksheet to map how their client makes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, noting shelf heights, prep surfaces, reach tools, and cleanup. Stop when groups finish their layout.

2. Showcase kitchen designs and define universal design 20 minutes

   Bring the room together. Give each group up to 90 seconds to reveal their client and describe their kitchen layout. Note key design features on the board. Introduce Ron Mace's definition of universal design (usable by all people without adaptation) versus specific design (custom accommodations). Ask the room to identify where designs clash and what shared tools could serve everyone.

3. Draft discussion guidelines 15 minutes

   Direct participants to Part 2 of the worksheet. Point to the shared summary of discussion styles and anxieties. Have each participant write individual thoughts silently for 3 minutes on physical room setup, speaking norms, and participation tools. Then ask small groups to spend 12 minutes drafting a shared discussion design that addresses those varied needs.

4. Showcase discussion designs 5 minutes

   Invite a spokesperson from each small group to share exactly one key room setup adjustment or discussion norm in 30 seconds or less. Record these ideas on the central board.

5. Full group debrief 10 minutes

   Facilitate a whole-room discussion using the debrief questions. Take up to 4 responses across the room. Close by confirming two or three baseline communication norms the group will follow going forward.

Debrief questions

• When you do not know participants' communication styles ahead of time, how can you still prepare an inclusive discussion space?
• When is it necessary to adopt a specific design accommodation even if it causes slight inconvenience to the majority?
• What is one concrete practice from today that we will use in our next meeting?

Finished output: A shared list of universal communication norms and physical meeting room adaptations recorded on a central flip chart.

Remote

Assign each small group to a breakout room. Send client profiles by private direct message to each breakout room lead. Use a shared digital whiteboard with separate frames for each team's kitchen sketch and subsequent meeting guidelines. Conduct whole-group debrief in the main room.

Hybrid

Form fully remote small groups in breakout rooms and fully in-person small groups in the physical room. Keep kitchen sketches and written discussion norms on a shared digital whiteboard that in-person groups access via a designated laptop scribe.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may sketch layouts on blank paper, write bulleted lists, or contribute verbally to their small group's design.
• Any participant may pass on speaking during the full-group showcase without explanation while remaining an active listener.

If the session gets stuck

Groups guess other teams' clients early and align their designs prematurely.

Remind participants to focus solely on their assigned client's sandwich-making steps and keep their slip face down.

Discussions about accessibility become debates about budget or impossible architectural remodeling.

Redirect the focus to simple layout shifts, flexible furniture, and small handheld tools rather than structural renovation.

Terms used here

• Universal Design: Designing environments and processes so they can be accessed and used by all people to the greatest extent possible without special modification.
• Specific Design: An adaptation or specialized accommodation made to address the particular access needs of an individual.