Advice on groups with members of varying skill levels?

[Emma Eldritch]

That's an awesome idea and I'm totally excited for and jealous of you. Anything including wine is a great idea.

Hey, you! Long time no see.

I don't have much better advice to offer than any of the previous posters, but maybe you can find activities that you're new to as well for everyone to try - that way you're all starting on the same page.

I'd like that - I feel like I'm always trying new and potentially stupid experiments. I'll just have to remember not to offer up anything too scary right off the bat.

Also, when I ran my campus' Pagan Student Union for a semester, I set up a kind of rotation, where every meeting a different member would present on a topic they knew something about. A variation on that could be that every person presents a topic that they're curious about, or maybe have some experience and want to compare notes on.

I think once we develop a steady schedule, that would be a great idea. Plus then the organizers (ie: me) can relax a bit sometimes.

One nice thing is everyone keeps offering to bring food and booze. Since I don't really bake, and I am a lush, this pleases me.

[Emma Eldritch]

A book or podcast club sounds fantastic - if everyone does what they're supposed to and reads/listens, there should be lots of discussion generated by that.

That's the big if, eh?

I too often struggle with trying not to come across as acting like I know everything, and in groups of people with varying skill levels in whatever the group is about, I find it helpful to have discussions and activities that involve everyone and get people talking.  Even if people don't have that much experience, they can usually contribute to the conversation.

Yeah, definitely something to remember, especially with a group that includes awkward/shy people. I'm usually pretty good at the social aspect of gatherings, so I am hoping I can get the few wallflowers feeling comfortable.

An example might be coming up with some discussion themes for the group, and then having an informal brainstorming/discussion where people can say what they know and ask questions about what they don't.  This can be as specific or as general as you like.

I like that idea. It would also be a really good way to come up with discussion topics for several different meetings.

If tarot is a common interest in the group, it would also be good to encourage people to practice giving readings to each other, mixing up those who are new and those who are not.  I've done this a lot with people who were less knowledgeable with respect to the tarot than I am, and it worked really well.  As long as the people who are working on developing their skills aren't afraid to ask questions or look stupid, this is really effective.

 
There is no question too stupid with tarot! Yeah, I think having everybody do readings is a really great idea. Thank you!

[Jabberwocky]

So my question is this: how do we keep this group feeling like a chill space where we can all learn, as opposed to turning it into a lecture hall situation? I'm not opposed to teaching things, but I really want to avoid making anybody feel like some dumb newb. So I figured I would ask the forum, both to get advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation, and to get the perspective of people who are just starting out on what they would like from an informal group.

Thanks you guys!

Back in my moot days, we had some success with a semi formal debate structure.  Two people making their presentation and then open it to brainstorming.  People actually seemed more comfortable coming forward in that setting.  It might or might not work for your group though; it's not for everyone.