A typical open 12-step meeting format involves reading a passage, sharing first names, stating one's status, listening to a speaker, and potentially sharing in a round-robin discussion.

“And the format in very briefly is uh someone you know will read something out and then people will go around the room and typically so people will say their name and they'll say they're an alcoholic or an addict of because sometimes it's mixed addiction and if people are there just to observe they'll just say I'm it's always first names only will say I'm so and so and I'm just I'm just here to learn and it goes right past you. So if you think that like the microscope's going to be on you, you know, and then typically um typically somebody who's had a lot of time sober will speak for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, sometimes a little longer, and then there'll be a kind of roundroin where people can or cannot they can elect to share for 1 to 3 minutes and then there's some discussion about the traditions.”