Method guide · Progress through phases
Paired listening
Use when people need uninterrupted time to put thoughts into words without recording them or reporting them to the whole group.
- People
- 2–30
- Base procedure time
- 15 minutes
- Recording
- No record
Purpose: Explore through dialogue; Build working relationships.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
Two people alternate speaking and listening to put thoughts into words without interruption. Form pairs and confirm the freedom not to speak and the agreement not to record. Limit each person’s speech to no more than 4 minutes; the listener does not evaluate, advise or ask questions. Only if the speaker wants it, give a brief summary. If the summary differs, correct it using the speaker’s own words before swapping roles. Leave the rest of each 6-minute slot as space for silence and changing roles. Do not report contributions to the whole group. Do not use this where there are safety concerns between partners, or in an evaluative interview where silence and passing cannot be respected.
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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- Form pairs that can speak safely0–1 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Form. Participation: Pairs.
No record
- Check passing and the no-recording agreement1–2 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Check. Participation: Pairs.
No record
- Let the first person speak for no more than 4 minutes2–8 minutes from the start (6 minutes)
Action: Speak. Participation: Pairs.
No record
- Let the second person have the same time8–14 minutes from the start (6 minutes)
Action: Swap. Participation: Pairs.
No record
- Finish without retaining the content14–15 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Check. Participation: Pairs.
No record
Facilitation steps
- For 1 minute, form pairs and decide who speaks and who listens. Changing partners and passing are also choices.
- For 1 minute, check the question, the agreement not to record contributions, and that summaries are optional.
- For 6 minutes, the first person speaks for no more than 4 minutes and receives a brief summary in the remaining time only if they want it.
- For 6 minutes, swap roles. The second person also speaks for no more than 4 minutes and has the same choice about a summary.
- For 1 minute, finish without reporting contributions to the whole group, and check that no notes have been made.
If something changes
If
During pairing, even one person raises a safety concern about dialogue with their partner.
Then
Do not ask why. Let the person choose another partner, a group of three, pairing with the facilitator or passing.
If
During either 6-minute slot, the listener gives advice, asks a question or evaluates at least once.
Then
Stop the interruption and return the remaining time to the original speaker. Resume from the agreement to listen without evaluation.
If
At the role change, the speaker indicates that they do not want a summary.
Then
Do not summarise. Swap roles without recording their contribution or sharing it with the whole group.
Preparation
Materials
- Time-signal cards for changing roles: one per pair
Room and setup
- Space pairs so that neighbouring conversations are not too audible to each other.
Adjust for people and time
For 2–30 people, form pairs in the venue. Only when the number is odd, make one group of three with two listeners. For 31 or more people, use multiple zones with no more than 30 people in each, applying the same pairing approach in every zone. In each 6-minute slot, speech takes no more than 4 minutes; leave the rest for silence and changing roles. Do not take contributions, summaries or pairings outside the zone.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Keep the freedom not to speak, to change partners and to pass. Do not record contributions, make notes or report them to the whole group. Summaries are optional and must be corrected in the speaker’s own words if they differ. Do not evaluate, advise or ask questions while listening, and respect safety concerns without asking for reasons.
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 an odd participant count, the source creates a group of three with two listeners, but the schedule provides only two 6-minute speaking slots. It does not allocate a speaking slot to every member of the trio. The translation preserves this unresolved role/timing issue.
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.
- Seeds for Change Facilitation Tools: Paired listening
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/tools
anti-copyright adaptation; changes made
- Conditions applying to anti-copyright
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/resources
anti-copyright
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.