Method guide · Arrange people and ideas
Positive Gossip
Describe observed actions and the help they provided so each person receives concrete observations of their strengths.
- People
- 12–100
- Base procedure time
- 15 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Build working relationships; Explore through dialogue.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
A conversation method for describing someone's strengths to others alongside the actions observed. Use it where praise stays at the level of abstract words, speaking directly to the person makes praise feel ceremonial, or everyday contributions are hidden behind job titles. In groups of 4–5, one person sits in the listening seat while the others talk to one another about actions they actually saw or heard and the helpful results, without evaluating the person. By rotating listening and speaking roles, everyone receives observations of their strengths and learns how others observe. The result is one strengths-observation record per person, grounded in specific actions. Do not use it where forced praise would be a burden or personal events would be shared without the person's consent.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
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- Choose observations0–2 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Groups of 4–5.
Individual record
- Describe strengths2–10 minutes from the start (8 minutes)
Action: Describe. Participation: Groups of 4–5.
Shared record
- Hand over the record10–13 minutes from the start (3 minutes)
Action: Give. Participation: Groups of 4–5.
Shared record
- Connect the insights13–15 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Connect. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 2 minutes, form groups of 4–5 and have each person note one action they actually observed for each of the others.
- For 2 minutes, the first person moves to the listening seat while the others describe to one another that person's actions and the helpful results.
- For 6 minutes, rotate the listener with equal time per person and repeat the procedure until everyone has occupied the listening seat once.
- For 3 minutes, the speakers write each observed action on a strengths-record card and give one card to the person concerned.
- For 2 minutes, each group writes one sentence about what changed when they used observed facts and posts one contribution in the whole-group record.
If something changes
If
After 1 minute of the initial writing, each group still has 2 or more notes containing only abstract adjectives.
Then
Add the two items ‘When?’ and ‘What did they do?’ and rewrite the notes as statements of actions actually seen or heard.
If
One minute after talking about a listener begins, only one speaker has contributed.
Then
Have the remaining two people briefly describe one different situation each rather than repeating the same action.
If
Each group has at least one card about an event the person does not want shared.
Then
Do not give the card to the person; discard it and replace it with an already public work-related action.
Preparation
Materials
- One strengths-record card per person, approximately A6
- Four observation notes per person, approximately business-card size
- One dark-coloured writing implement per person
- One large sheet of paper or whiteboard for the whole-group record
Room and setup
- One area per group of 4–5, arranged with speaking seats and one listening seat
- Passages at least 60 cm wide from each group area to the whole-group record surface
Adjust for people and time
Do not use this method with fewer than 12 people. With 12–100, form groups of 4–5 whose sizes differ by no more than 1 person. In each group, divide the 8 minutes equally by its participant number so everyone is the listener once. Above 100 people, divide into venues of no more than 100, and use groups of 4–5 within each venue.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Describe observed actions and their helpful results without evaluating the person. Do not use the format where forced praise would burden participants or personal events would be shared without consent. Discard any card about an event the person does not want shared and replace it with an already public work-related action.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- For a group of 5, the steps' first 2-minute turn plus 6 minutes for the remaining four turns does not give everyone the equal share of 8 minutes stated in scaling. Both source instructions are preserved; no revised timing is invented.
- The second branch specifies ‘the remaining two people’, which fits a group of 4 but not all remaining speakers in a group of 5. That numerical instruction is retained without inventing an additional turn rule.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Liberating Structures Fieldbook (2026): Positive Gossip — Henri Lipmanowicz / Keith McCandless / Nancy White
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/positive-gossip
Adaptation under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes made
- CC BY-SA 4.0
Current-page licence notice
This explanation is an adaptation for Taiwa no Fumen based on the official Liberating Structures page linked below. The manuscript's recorded references are listed separately from the web page checked on 17 October 2026.
Changes: the Japanese explanation and facilitation plan have been edited for Taiwa no Fumen. The English edition translates that Japanese manuscript; it is not a verbatim translation of the official page.
The LS-adapted text on this page, including this site's editorial and translation contributions, is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. When reusing it, credit the creators, identify the source and licence, indicate changes, and follow the licence's ShareAlike terms when sharing adaptations.
This site's notation diagrams and on-screen illustrations explain the facilitation process. They are not presented as official LS icons.
Method names are used to identify their sources. This is not an official LS website, and no endorsement or approval by the creators or rights holders is implied.
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Credits on the checked source page
- Adapted by: Neil McCarthy, Keith McCandless
- Inspiration: Strozzi Institute for Somatics, Tracy Rekart
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Positive Gossip.
Source lineage
- Original repertoire (2013): Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
- 2026 Fieldbook: Keith McCandless, Nancy White
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
Original Japanese guide, diagram, and print view. Their labels and print text have not been translated; an English print edition is not provided here.
English video-library navigation. Original Japanese audio, subtitles and transcripts remain labelled Japanese resources. Their translations are separate later work. No remote player is embedded here.
The manual English phase controls are a navigation aid, not a live facilitation timer. Interactive diagram motion remains pending.
Editorial provenance
Japanese source status and logs are provenance only. They do not mean this English text or interface was field-tested. Historical fixed-text acceptance and hold records remain specific to their recorded versions; displaying them neither asserts current acceptance nor resolves source-specific restrictions.