We’ve all been in those classroom discussions where the same three students talk while everyone else checks out. I used to think the problem was finding better discussion topics. Then I realized: it’s not what we’re talking about—it’s how we’re talking. And it’s not just the words—it’s also the pauses, the body language, and the very design of classroom spaces.

As a speech-language pathologist, I’ve worked with people of all ages who struggle to communicate or understand others. I’ve also taught communication workshops to doctors at Harvard Medical School. As it turns out, the same patterns that help clinicians with creative thinking also help students engage in classroom discussions. Small shifts in how we structure conversations can completely change who participates and how deeply they think.

In this workshop, we’ll dig into your actual classroom discussions—the ones that worked and the ones that didn’t. You’ll practice different ways of asking questions, learn when silence is more powerful than talking, and discover how to respond to student ideas without accidentally shutting down the conversation.

I’m not promising you’ll become a perfect discussion facilitator overnight. But you will walk away knowing how to create the kind of classroom environment where students surprise themselves with their own thinking, where the quiet kids start contributing, and where discussions actually deepen understanding instead of just filling time.