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Cohort 1 · 2026 · Session 7 of 8 · Run sheet

Professional Skills

Two hours. The minute-by-minute facilitator script for M10.

Date
Thursday 2 July 2026
Time
11:00–13:00
Venue
DKA, 475 South Stuart Hwy
Facilitators
Metia (lead) · Mandy (co-fac)

Session purpose · three things to land

  1. People meet the professional-skills menu and vote on what matters to them - the cohort steers the emphasis, not the curriculum. M10 is a menu, not a course.
  2. People practise listening two ways — sorting behaviours on the traffic-light A3 and making their own drawing set.
  3. People pick 2-3 speaking-up cards AND the chair-prompt cards that put meeting language in their pocket — speaking up and chairing a meeting — and see the parts of an email they can reuse for any email they'll ever send.
  4. Mandy holds visible space as a leader-with-lived-experience - she shares a skill she's still learning, models the first card, and closes the session. Co-fac integration is the spine of this module.
The unspoken fourth one: the cohort leaves believing professional skills are things you practise, not things you're born with. That's the only one that matters in the long run.

M10 was never designed as a single session - it's a menu woven across weeks. The win condition is each person leaving with one or two skills they CHOSE and a take-home they'll actually try, not coverage of all ten sub-topics. If the vote pulls hard toward one block, give it the time: drop the email walkthrough first, then trim CARDS to one pair round. Protect Mandy-shares-first (slide 5 - 'the most important minute of the slot') and the listening block. We're not certifying anything, and we're not pronouncing on what's right - different families, workplaces and Country have different norms.

Pre-session prep

Two days out · Tue 30 June
OwnerAlignment meeting
  • Walk through this recomposed run sheet with Metia + Mandy - confirm standalone delivery vs redistributing blocks into S5/S6 per the weaving guide (this is the decision point)
  • Lock Mandy's slide-5 share - one professional skill she had to learn, one she's still learning. Concrete example each, rehearsed not improvised
  • Lock Mandy's model CARDS stem - worksheet suggests card 8 ('I see what you are saying, but I think something different') but it's her pick
  • Mandy confirms whether the two NEW cards stay in the pack - card 9 (inviting someone in) + card 10 (slow down) are DAS additions; if she cuts them, the original 8 stand alone
  • Mandy's call: her photo vs generic 'co-fac speaks' icon on slide 5
  • Agree the vote-day answer if hygiene or clothes win the cohort vote - those A3s are pending PWID review (CRR-020 / CRR-021), the in-room line is 'that one's coming - we're getting the pictures right first'. NEVER improvise the visuals
  • Decide who reads the Acknowledgement - CRR-001 holding wording, read the locked interim version, don't improvise
  • Brief on participant flags from the S6 debrief - anyone having a hard week
  • Confirm venue + assembly point (Akaltye Room / DKA if the pattern holds) + toilets day-of
Day before · Wed 1 July
OwnerLukas + Metia
  • Print Learning Topics A3 (the menu) x 7 - one per pair + spares - PLUS take-home copies x 12
  • Print What is good active listening A3 x 5 (one per pair) + laminated listening card packs (~20 cards per pack)
  • Print the 3 category cards: Supportive listening / Not sure / Unsupportive listening
  • Blank cards + paper + textas for the drawing variant - the source photo set is NOT in the kit (pending review - CRR-022)
  • Print + laminate chair prompt card sets x 12 (6 cards per set, or Mandy's post-review set) + blank spare cards for own-words versions (relocated from S8; pending review - CRR-023)
  • CARDS sentence-stem sets x 12 (laminated, one set per participant to keep)
  • Print email template handout x 12 + Easy Read picture-variant spares
  • Do NOT print the hygiene A3 or professional clothes A3 - pending PWID menu-of-options review (CRR-020 / CRR-021). They are not in this session
  • Print per-session (traffic light) feedback forms x 12 + SW feedback forms x 6
  • Charge laptop + projector + phones; confirm caterer headcount
  • 15-min huddle - last walk-through
Day of · Thu 2 July, 10:00 arrival
OwnerAll
  • Set room - horseshoe facing wall
  • Stick Group Agreement (from S1) on wall
  • Load M10 intro deck - it's the first-pass pptx (purple-bar placeholders instead of burst devices); that's expected, don't troubleshoot it
  • Stage materials in activity order: menu A3s + traffic light cards first, then listening A3s + card packs + category cards + drawing supplies, then CARDS sets, chair prompt card sets, email templates
  • Flipchart + butcher's paper ready for the vote capture and the speaking-up + chair-prompt practice
  • Tea / coffee station + catering for ~12:00
  • 30-min huddle Metia + Mandy - re-confirm Mandy's slide-5 share and her model card

Minute by minute

11:00–11:06 6 min Welcome back + AcknowledgementStandard session open · the M10 extension deck has no Acknowledgement slide - we carry it ourselves Lead: Mandy (welcome) + agreed reader (Acknowledgement)
S7 deck slides 1–3 (cover up on entry · welcome back · Acknowledgement)
Mandy welcomes the room back. Short. Acknowledgement - read the agreed holding wording. Don't paraphrase, don't improvise. CRR-001 wording is still PENDING Lhere Artepe - read the locked interim version. Then the bridge: 'Today is one topic - professional skills. Skills you can pick up and put down. You choose what you want to work on.' 30-second go-round optional: 'One thing since we last met.' Mandy goes first. Pass is fine.
Watch: Anyone visibly flat or distressed on entry - quiet check-in. This is the second-to-last group session; if the program-is-ending feeling surfaces, name it lightly and keep moving - the close handles next steps.
11:06–11:11 5 min HousekeepingStandard run-through · Toilets + Assembly + Cards + Food Lead: Metia
S7 deck slide 4 (housekeeping)
Walk the room through quickly: - Toilets - point them out (confirm layout at alignment). - Assembly point - confirmed location + backup. - Phones - silent please; step out if you need a call. - Photos - only if Photo OK ticked. They can change their mind any time. - Coloured cards - refresher: green = good / yes, yellow = not sure / need a moment, red = no / need to stop. The refresher matters extra today - the vote and every sort in this session runs on these cards. - Food - lunch around 12:00. ~5 minutes max. Don't drone.
Watch: Anyone looking lost at housekeeping - Mandy grounds it with a one-line story about when she's used the yellow card.
11:11–11:18 7 min Why professional skillsM10 intro deck first run - full 7-slide version today Lead: Metia (Mandy adds the line that matters)
S7 deck slides 5–7 (today's plan · Module 10 break · why this)
Framing, slow: 'Leaders go to meetings. Leaders write emails. Leaders show up.' 'These are skills you can practise and get better at. You don't have to do all of them. Pick what matters to you.' Recomposition note: the deck's woven line ('some weeks we'll spend 30 minutes on one of these') doesn't fit today - reframe live: 'Today we get a whole session, so we'll do a few of them in one go.' Mandy's line: 'I had to learn these too. Some of them I'm still learning.' What this is NOT: not a training course, we're not certifying anything. Not a judgement - we name what some workplaces expect, we don't pronounce on what's right.
Watch: Keep it to 7 min - the deck is a menu + framing deck by design, the activities are the work.
11:18–11:30 12 min The menu - what do YOU want to work on?From M10 deck slide 3 + Learning Topics A3 · traffic-light vote Lead: Mandy runs the vote · Metia captures on flipchart
S7 deck slide 8 (the menu)
Hand out the Learning Topics A3 - one per pair. Mandy runs the traffic-light vote item by item: green = 'yes, I want to do this one', yellow = 'maybe', red = 'skip it'. Metia captures on the flipchart. Recomposed purpose: in the woven design this vote picked sub-topics for the following weeks. As a standalone session the vote does three things instead - it steers TODAY's emphasis (more time where the green is), it flags what to fold into next session (speaking up + listening in meetings bridge straight into S8's Meetings module), and it names what people want to chase after the program ends. 'We won't do all of these. Nobody does. We'll do a few today, properly.' If hygiene or professional clothes get strong green: 'That one's coming - we're getting the pictures right with Mandy and the review group first.' (Pending review - CRR-020 / CRR-021. Do not improvise those visuals today.) Each participant takes a menu copy home at the close - tick the ones to come back to outside the program.
Watch: Don't let the vote sprawl - it's a steer, not a negotiation. If the room is shy, drop the formal vote and have a chat: 'What two of these would you most like to look at?'
11:30–11:35 5 min How we'll do it + Mandy goes firstM10 deck slides 4–5 · the pivot moment of the module Lead: Metia (slide 4, quick) · Mandy (slide 5 - lead stays quiet)
S7 deck slides 9–10 (how we'll do it · Mandy goes first)
Slide 4, fast: in the room - an A3 to look at together, a worksheet or card sort, pair work or whole-group chat. Outside the room - a handout home, practise it once, tell us how it went. Mandy's line: 'We won't read big slabs of text. We'll do something with our hands. That's how I learn this stuff.' Then slide 5 - Mandy goes first. She names ONE professional skill she's good at and ONE she's still working on. Concrete example each. Her own words, pre-arranged at alignment. Lead stays quiet here. Per the M10 run sheet: 'This is the most important minute of the slot. Don't skip it.'
Watch: Mandy's share is rehearsed, not improvised. If she's unwell today, Metia carries the framing and the share is rescheduled rather than dropped - acknowledge briefly, don't make a thing of it.
11:35–12:00 25 min Active listening - card sort + cohort drawingsFrom M10 active listening A3 + supportive/unsupportive activity · drawing variant runs (pending review - CRR-022) Lead: Both walk the room · Mandy sits with anyone unsure
S7 deck slide 11 (listening activity) stays up
Part 1 - A3 traffic-light sort (~12 min): listening cards face-down beside the A3. Each participant picks one in turn, reads it aloud, decides green / yellow / red, places it. Yellow is a real answer - 'yellow is the answer for I dunno yet.' The eye-contact card ('Looking towards a person when they are talking') is pending cultural review (pending review - CRR-019): if anyone says it doesn't fit for their family or community, accept it, move it to yellow, don't pronounce one way right. 'Different families and Country have different ways of showing respect. What we're showing is what some workplaces expect - you've got two ways to listen, and you pick based on who you're with.' Capture the moment for the debrief. Part 2 - cohort drawing set (~8 min): each participant draws one face or posture showing supportive listening, one showing unsupportive. Sort the cohort's OWN drawings onto the three category cards (Supportive / Not sure / Unsupportive). We are NOT using the source photo set (pending review - CRR-022, permissions unsourced) - the drawings are the cohort's keepsake and the stronger version of the activity anyway. Part 3 - reflection (~5 min): Which red-zone behaviour have you done? (We've all done some.) Which green-zone one are you good at? Which will you practise? Then bridge to the afternoon: after lunch we move from listening to speaking up and chairing a meeting.
Watch: Co-fac speaks first on 'how would it feel if someone listened to you like this'. Don't let the sort become a judgement of anyone in the room. Capture any norm-difference moments for the Cultural Review Register - that's evidence the CRR-019 review needs.
12:00–12:15 15 min Lunch + breakCatering on at ~12:00 · facilitators off duty Lead: All
S7 deck slide 12 (lunch), or blank screen
Short break. Facilitators eat too - the cohort needs to see Mandy + Metia + Lukas relax in the room, not work it. Metia can do a soft 'you OK?' check-in with anyone who flagged during the listening sort - no agenda. Lukas during the break: collect the cohort drawings carefully (keepsake), reset for the afternoon - flipchart ready for the speaking-up + chair-prompt practice, CARDS packs and chair-prompt card sets out of the box, email templates stacked.
Watch: Watch dietary flags per participant pack. Don't debrief anyone over lunch - just check warmth.
12:15–12:30 15 min Things leaders can say - speaking up cardsFrom M10 CARDS · 10 sentence stems · pair practice · bridges into S8 Meetings Lead: Mandy (models her card first) · Metia sets up the fake meeting
S7 deck slide 13 (speaking up)
Lay all 10 cards face-up on the table. Mandy models hers first - the worksheet suggests card 8: 'I see what you are saying, but I think something different.' Her words: 'It's the one that helps me disagree without it feeling like a fight.' Each participant picks 2-3 cards that feel most useful to them. Pair up. The room becomes a fake meeting around the table - each person tries one of their cards out loud, in their normal voice. Swap pairs if time. Whole-cohort close: which card was hardest? Which was easiest? Honest answers, not 'right' answers. Cards 9 (inviting someone in - 'I'd like to hear what [name] thinks') and 10 (asking for a slow-down) are the DAS additions - card 10 bridges straight into the chair prompts we do next. If Mandy cut either at alignment, run with the original 8. Take-home: each participant keeps their chosen cards - laminated, one set each. Goal: use one in a real meeting before PATH Plan day.
Watch: Normal voice is the point - nobody performs. Bored fast-finishers become the card-reader or the fake meeting's chair, or share a real story: 'Tell us about a time you spoke up at a meeting.' 'I already know this' - genuine: let them lead, pair them with someone newer. Performative: 'This room has a lot of experience. Let's hear what you do.'
12:30–12:45 15 min Chair prompt cards - keeping a meeting on trackFrom M12 chair prompt set · relocated from S8 · sits beside the speaking-up cards (pending review — CRR-023) Lead: Metia reads · Mandy gives the lived lines
S7 deck slide 14 (chair prompts)
Lay all 6 cards face-up on the table. Read each one out loud as a group - when would you use this? Has anyone used something like it before? The six situations: everyone's talking at once · the meeting goes too fast · someone hasn't been heard · the meeting's wandering · you don't agree · you need a pause. Mandy's lived lines (hers, pre-agreed): 'I use the first one a lot - Excuse me, it feels like... is the one that helps me step in without it being a fight.' And: 'Card 2 is the one I had to learn. I used to nod along when meetings went too fast, and then I'd be lost. Now I just say it.' Language note (pending review — CRR-023): the formal stems - 'Excuse me...' - may not fit every CA setting; in some informal settings 'Hang on a sec' works better. These are borrow-words, not the only words. Offer the menu, accept reworded versions, and put blank cards out for anyone who wants their own wording. If Mandy's softening pass landed before today, use her wordings on the printed set. PAIR PRACTICE — Each participant picks 2 cards that feel useful to them. Pair up. We set up a fake conversation around the table - pretend the room is a real meeting - and each person uses one of their cards out loud, naturally. Mandy models the kind tone FIRST, before the pairs start: same words said sharply land badly. 'Listen to the difference - same words, different tone.' Mandy walks the room, partners with anyone solo or stuck, scribes for anyone whose literacy needs it - rewriting a stem in the participant's own words on a blank card is a win, not a workaround (and another data point for the CRR-023 review). 2026-06-25: relocated from S8 so all the meeting language (speaking up + chairing) sits together in S7. The cohort brings these cards to S8 next week (the mock meeting) and to their PATH Plan day.
Watch: Nobody gets made to say a stem that doesn't sound like them. Capture any reworded versions the room produces - they feed the CRR-023 review. A sharp or aggressive delivery in pair practice - don't shame. Mandy models the kind tone again: 'Same words, but listen to the difference - Excuse me, it feels like... said gently.' Pair them with Mandy for round 2 if needed.
12:45–12:54 9 min Writing an email - the partsFrom M10 email template · walkthrough only - the fill-in goes home Lead: Metia (walkthrough) · Mandy (the line that lands)
S7 deck slide 15 (writing an email)
Walk the annotated mock-up, naming each part: TO (who it's going to) - SUBJECT (one line on what it's about) - GREETING (their name) - BODY (the message, short, two or three paragraphs is plenty) - SIGN-OFF (thanks + your name) - YOUR DETAILS (optional). Mandy's line: 'I write emails. They scared me at first. The thing that helps me is - same parts every time. Once you know the parts, you can write any email.' Hand out the template: 'Pick someone you'd actually email this week - your support coordinator, your NDIA planner, your favourite worker at DAS, your auntie. Fill it in at home. Send it tomorrow.' The phone box at the bottom of the sheet - name it, don't run it: 'There's a three-line phone script down the bottom if calls are more your thing.' The practice call is held over - phone is optional and never pushed.
Watch: Literacy struggle - co-fac scribes, the Easy Read picture version goes home instead, no fuss made. Some participants prefer in-person to phone, especially with elders or formal contacts - the phone box is optional, don't push it.
12:54–13:00 6 min Wrap-up + take-homes + see youM10 deck slide 7 · co-fac leads the close Lead: Mandy (Metia supports)
S7 deck slides 16–18 (wrap-up · next session · back cover)
Slide 7 - fill in live: 'Today we covered: listening, speaking up, chairing a meeting, and the parts of an email.' 'Take the handouts home. Try ONE thing before next week. Tell us how it went.' Per-session feedback (traffic light) forms - 2 min, collect at the door. SW feedback forms to any support workers attending - drop back or email peersupport@das.org.au. 'Next session is the last group session - Thursday 9 July. Topic is Meetings. Bring your speaking-up and chair cards - you'll use them in a real practice meeting.' Mandy thanks each person individually by name as they leave. This is the most important moment of the wrap-up.
Watch: Don't run over 13:00 - people have transport booked. Make sure everyone leaves with: their 2-3 speaking-up cards, their chair prompt cards, the email template, and a Learning Topics menu copy.

Mandy's choices to lock at alignment

ChoiceOptions
Slide-5 share - one skill she had to learn + one she's still learningHer own picks, concrete example each (e.g. listening / being on time / getting ready vs speaking up when she disagrees / paperwork). Rehearsed not improvised - locked at Tue 30 June alignment.
Her model CARDS stemWorksheet suggests card 8 (disagreeing politely) - her pick at alignment
Cards 9 + 10 - keep or cutThe two DAS additions (inviting someone in / slow down) are hers to confirm; if cut, the original 8 stand alone
Photo vs generic icon on slide 5Her photo / generic 'co-fac speaks' icon - per her consent, her call at alignment
Her listening moment (opens the sort)One time someone listened well to her + one time they didn't - what it felt like. One sentence each.
If unwell mid-session (like S1)Steps out - Metia + Lukas continue. Acknowledge briefly: 'Mandy's having a rest, back next week.' Reschedule her slide-5 share rather than drop it - it's the pivot of the module.

Participant flags · keep in your back pocket

ParticipantFlag
Brandon Williams Hard of hearing Hard of hearing. Quiet, communicates more when safe. Needs help with spelling and reading. Loves food — remind when enough is enough.
Hosea Crafter Contact via Tony (carer) No personal phone. Primary contact is his carer Tony · 0400 365 551. Tony will transport him to and from each session.
Jordan Sumner (Jordy) Nut allergy Needs 30 sec processing time before he answers — be patient. Two support workers attending. STRICT nut-free diet per dietician.
Keyanna Williams 24/7 oxygenKP Services pickup 24/7 oxygen. Fatigues easily — calm room, regular breaks, flexible pacing. Simple, repeated communication. Structured routine, limited choices, 1:1 support. KP Services transport · 0403 574 249.
Michael Wallace Hard of hearing Hard of hearing. Needs reminders to focus and to eat.
Mona Teamay Eligibility queryIDDSI 4 / IDDSI 3 AAC (Eye Gaze). Pureed food (IDDSI Level 4), moderately thick fluids (IDDSI Level 3). EOI ticked NO to intellectual/learning disability — confirm eligibility with David.
Petra Haines KWS / Auslan + whiteboard Uses KWS and Auslan; adapts via writing and whiteboard, plus animated expression. Keep communication simple. Has a current behaviour support plan — request from Codie.

Anticipated tricky moments

Eye-contact card pushback A participant says looking at the speaker is rude in their family - e.g. with Elders or across gender. They're right and it matters. Accept it, move the card to yellow ('depends'), don't pronounce one way right: 'You've got two ways to listen, and you pick based on who you're with.' Capture the moment in debrief notes for the Cultural Review Register (pending review - CRR-019).
The vote lands hard on hygiene or professional clothes Those A3s are pending PWID menu-of-options review (CRR-020 / CRR-021) and are NOT in today's kit. The line: 'Good pick - that one's coming. We're getting the pictures right with Mandy and the review group first.' Never improvise the visuals or freelance the topic from memory - that's the review's call, not ours.
"I never go to meetings" 'What about a meeting at the doctor's? Or a family meeting? Or a sit-down at the art centre?' Most participants go to more meetings than they think - just not under the label 'meeting'.
"They go too fast and I can't follow" 'That's not your fault. That's the meeting's fault.' Permission to slow the meeting down is the lesson. Card 10 helps - and the chair prompts we do straight after go further: 'Can we slow down a bit? I want to follow.'
A participant pushes back on a 'right' way 'That's fair. We're not saying one way is right. We're showing what some workplaces expect, so you can pick what works for you. Different families do this differently. Different workplaces do this differently. You decide.'
Email block surfaces literacy struggle Co-fac scribes for anyone who needs it - that's part of the role. The take-home for a participant with low literacy is the Easy Read picture version, not the text version. No fuss, no spotlight.
A participant nails an activity in 5 min and is bored Make them the card-reader, scribe, or the fake meeting's chair for the rest of the block. Or invite a real story: 'Tell us about a time you used this at work.'
"I already know this" Genuine - let them lead. Pair them with someone newer, ask them to share an example. Performative - name it gently: 'This room has a lot of experience. Let's hear what you do.'
A participant doesn't want to do a block Don't force it. Quietly offer the worksheet to take home, or pair them with their support worker or Mandy. If 3+ participants aren't engaging, that's a signal - wrap the block early and move to the next one (no host module to pivot back to in the standalone reading; the next block is the pivot).
A participant shares cultural framing Country, kinship, Sorry Business, avoidance norms surfacing in the listening sort or anywhere else. Listen and reflect what they said. Don't correct, don't expand, don't probe with 'tell me more'. Note in debrief. Per the CRR-011 / CRR-012 pattern.
Tech failure (deck won't load) Plan B is paper. The deck is a menu + framing deck - every activity runs off A3s, cards and the flipchart, none of it needs projection. Read the slide content from the printed spec. Don't lose 10 minutes troubleshooting (the purple-bar placeholders are normal, not a fault).
A participant uses a chair prompt sharply / aggressively in pair practice Don't shame. Mandy models the kind tone again: 'Same words, but listen to the difference - Excuse me, it feels like... said gently.' Pair them with Mandy for round 2 if needed.
A chair prompt lands too formal for someone's world (pending review — CRR-023) 'Excuse me' works in a CA committee meeting; in some informal family settings it sounds wrong. Accept the participant's reworded version - write it on a blank card, that's their card now. Capture the rewording for the CRR-023 review. Don't author new wordings ourselves.

End-of-session checklist

Adapted for Central Australia by DAS, in partnership with Inclusion NT under the PATH MOU 2025–26. Original curriculum © Inclusion NT.