In our marketing research subject, we were tasked to facilitate an asynchronous discussion on our class’ online school platform. It was the first time I heard of the term and our professor did a great job explaining it. Let me begin with how I understand the concept of “asynchronous discussion”. Being a part of the generation between gen x and millennials, or as we are called, xennials, in my own terms, it is an online forum. A certain person posts a question or topic and other people share and post their thoughts on the matter. It can be likened to the current social media activities where people comment on a post and other people comment back. At first, I thought, now that is easy. Given that a topic was already set for us and our classmates were required to participate, it seemed that everything was set to go by quickly and with a good turnout

But it turned out not too easy after all. To start, choosing the right question was challenging and confusing at the same time. There were many considerations taken into account to draft a question that can both pique the interest of and connect to the respondents. I had to place myself in the shoes of my classmates who were much younger than me. It can’t be too broad nor be too specific as an opening question as well. Should I share an experience of mine to make it more personal? With my style of writing, I also had to adjust to a style that was more friendly and simple. We were lucky to have our professor check our questions even before we posted them to get valuable feedback.

Now came the discussion proper, I posted my question and waited for responses to come in. I did have certain expectations in terms of what opinions will be shared. Interestingly, I received responses that were to my expectations and some that were not. I enjoyed seeing the responses, and with my curious nature, I was happy to continue the discussion along with follow-up questions. I have to say that the whole experience was enjoyable because you are able to see different perspectives. By nature of it being online and people having the freedom to respond at their own time, I believe it helped them share something authentic and true, and have the needed time to explain it the best way they can. The only challenging part I would say is having to check frequently for responses and it can easily slip one’s mind. Other than that I would consider this type of discussion in future projects if needed.