Write out your answer to the On Arrival Question
How might we create a feeling of more warmth, depth, and intimacy in the Empathy Circle?
Dimitra
Nancy
Jessica
Non recorded sessions.
Sharing personal stories.
Edwin
Topic: The circle topic effects the warmth and depth of the circle. More personal the subject the more personal and intimate and possibly for more warmth.
Personal Topics: Talking about personal subjects, like… problems, struggles and challenges in our life.
Support Empathy Circle: Frame the Circle as a personal support circle. To talk about personal issues.
Confidentiality: having a non recorded circle can allow people to be more personal.
Facilitator Models: When the facilitator models speaking from a more personal point of view.
Discuss Feelings and Feelings Desired (Needs, values):
NVC - Being trained in feelings and needs
Focusing - speaking from felt experience.
Many other methods.
More Conflict: When people have more intense conflict in the circle it feels deeper. For example. Possibly a Pro-life and Pro Choice circle could be intense.. Deeply held values arise.
Longer Circles: 4hr, day long, weekend long. Longer time could lead to deeper connection.
The Need: Designing a Facilitator Training on how to create more warmth and depth in the empathy circle.
Warmth: Dimitra says she has a desire for more warmth in the empathy circle.
Depth: Some political circle participants say they would like more depth in the circles.
I Like: Needs met for hope, effective communication and deep listening. I definitely enjoyed the process and feel grateful.
The listening was so skillful and so right on for me and I think for others also - is my observation. It was a very rich and very deep conversation.
I think we really approached some very deep and emotionally sensitive things.
I really liked the unique moment of Meagan doing a role play to bring in a different voice to cause us to go deeper.
I thought is was a really good circle today. There was a lot of deep listening and sharing. What I would wish for is that we could get to the deeper level of our needs and talking about what we each need and maybe even to guessing needs in a NVC format.
I agree with Cory that I would enjoy going a layer deeper to the needs.
As my experience in the past. I had a great, deep connection in the Empathy Circle.
We basically wove this fabric of conversation that allowed up to go really deep, in our thinking and our conversation. So I am grateful for the spaciousness of time for a spaciousness of thought and depth of thought.
"I really liked the way the conversation unfolded and how everyone build on each other. I felt a sense of deepening in a way."
these gatherings could be transformed into full day or even a 2-3 day event where we use processes to go deeper into what the real needs are, for people of every perspective.
Empathy Circle on Question
30 min write up results.