The majority of your online peer support services will be live video-based support group meetings or 1:1 coaching sessions. So it’s important that you understand the ins and outs of creating your own group meetings and 1 on 1 coaching sessions.
When planning to create meetings we recommend that you create a Word or Google doc where you will save all of your meeting descriptions. This will help you synthesize the purpose and focus of your meeting. It will help you work through grammatical typos.
*Note: the majority of American adults are at a 7th or 8th-grade reading level. Please be sure to shape the description of your meetings to stay within the boundaries of an 8th-grade reading level. Grammarly is a great online tool and resource to review your descriptions.
A Word or Google doc will also make it easier for you to copy and paste the meeting information when you go to schedule multiple meetings in HeyPeers. Here are our recommended items to include in your meeting information:
- Conversation Name - This is the name of your meeting. It will be consistent every time you schedule a meeting for this specific meeting type
- Support Topic - Does this meeting have a series of different topics? If yes, then write the topic list out and write a sentence or two about each topic
- Special Focus - List the lived experiences and/or conditions the topic will apply to.
- Meeting Description - Create a general meeting description
- Group Meeting or 1 to 1 Meeting? - Some meetings are best being only a group meeting or a 1 to 1 meeting. Other meetings could be utilized in both structures.
What is the difference between a Group meeting and 1:1 Peer Coaching session? The difference is in the numbers. With a Group meeting, you can allow up to 45 members to register for the meeting (the max registrants set for the meeting does not include the group leaders). Group meetings can be a series of meetings that you offer monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly. You can also create specialized groups, like a book club, that will only last for a certain amount of weeks.
For the 1:1 Peer Coaching, your organization’s Peer Supporter or Facilitator will be only meeting with one other HeyPeers user. 1:1 Peer Coaching sessions are great for your organization to support HeyPeers users who are seeking individual attention and guidance around topics your organization specializes in or just need a listening ear. We recommend that the 1:1 Peer Coaching last around 60 minutes and up to 90 minutes.