September 23, 2025

How to Run a Hot Seat

One of the key features of Ditcherville is that members are encouraged to type up questions in the #questions-for-js channel for me to answer on our biweekly live sessions.

This works well in most cases, but sometimes I can tell the question is going to require a lot of back and forth to uncover all the context and nuance of the situation.

In cases like this, I invite the question asker to participate in a hot seat.

What is a hot seat?

A hot seat is a short meeting with a small cohort of like-minded individuals in which one person gets on the “hot seat” and presents a challenge they’re facing. The group then brainstorms potential solutions in a structured and constructive way.

How it works in Ditcherville

In Ditcherville, we use Zoom Meetings for hot seats, and it works great. I think the sessions are most productive when there are 4-8 active participants on the call. I say “active” participants because sometimes additional folks join the meeting just to watch and don’t chime in, which is fine and doesn’t really add any overhead for the facilitator.

Ground rules for hot seats

These are the hot seat ground rules we follow in Ditcherville:

• Time limit: 30 minutes per person.
• Focus: The hot seat participant should bring one specific challenge.
• Participation: Everyone contributes, but the participant remains the focus.
• No vague advice: Responses should be actionable and experience-based.

How to structure a hot seat

Here’s the structure we use for hot seats in Ditcherville:

Step 1: Participant Presents Their Challenge (~5 min)

• Encourage concise problem framing.
• Key elements to include:
  • Current state: Where they are now.
  • Desired state: Where they want to be.
  • Obstacle: What’s preventing progress.

Step 2: Group Asks Clarifying Questions (~5 min)

• No solutions yet—only questions to refine the problem.
• Examples:
  • “What have you tried so far?”
  • “What’s the worst possible outcome if you do nothing?”
  • “What constraints are you working with?”

Step 3: Group Provides Feedback & Ideas (~15 min)

• Each participant gives 1–2 insights or strategies.
• Encourage experience-based advice: “What worked for me was…”
• Discourage generic opinions: “You should try harder.”

Step 4: Participant Reflects & Selects Next Steps (~5 min)

• The hot seat participant summarizes key takeaways.
• They commit to specific actions before the next meeting.

There are lots of variations on this model that I’ve seen other people use, so feel free to modify as you see fit. This is just the approach that we’ve gravitated to in Ditcherville.

Have fun hot seating!

Yours.

—J

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