Here are practical suggestions to help you plan and hold conversations in community settings. Planning a community-based conversation includes tips to help program planners manage the conversation event logistics. Holding conversations in community settings includes tips for discussion leaders. If the primary audience for your conversation is young people, you may also want to visit Conversations in Schools for more information. Use the Checklist for Conversation Planning and Follow Up to guide your planning activities. Just click on the links below for ideas you can use. (Adapted, in part, from "A Handbook of Tips: A National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity (1995)," published by the National Endowment for the Humanities and used with permission of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.) You can also download this entire section as a .pdf Planning a Community-based Conversation Forming a Diverse Planning Group Partnering with Existing Groups to Hold Conversations Setting Up Conversations on Your Own Considerations if You Use "Experts" Selecting Discussion Leaders Determining the Conversation Topic Choosing a Conversation Format Working Out the Logistics Logistics for Larger Groups Identifying Participants Inviting Participants Holding Conversations in Community Settings The Role of the Discussion Leader Beginning the Conversation Setting Ground Rules Keeping the Conversation Going Challenges Discussion Leaders May Face Closing a Conversation Concluding the Conversation Following Up This section contains ideas on what to do when the conversation is over, and evaluation forms for you and your participants. Keeping the Conversation Alive Evaluating the Conversation Experience Sample Participants' Evaluation (.pdf) Report to the ABA (.pdf) Note: you may need Adobe's free Acrobat Reader) to view .pdfs.