Method guide · Arrange people and ideas
People map
Show only a region people may safely share through relative positions or seated cards, with passing and no location records.
- People
- 5–40
- Base procedure time
- 10 minutes
- Recording
- No record
Purpose: Begin together; Build working relationships.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
An opening method for expressing a region that may be shared through spatial relationships. Mark north, south, east, west, and broad regional areas on the floor. Participants choose standing, holding up a region card from their current position, or passing. Check the level of regional detail with neighbours and adjust only relative positions, without showing addresses. Final introductions are optional; do not photograph or record contributions or the arrangement. At the end, the body arrangement offers an overview of regional nearness and distance. Do not use this where someone's location information creates a safety risk or participation without moving cannot be provided.
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.
Use the arrow keys, Home or End while these controls have focus. The complete phase schedule remains below, including without JavaScript.
- Show directions and broad areas0–1 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Show. Participation: Small groups with movement.
No record
- Choose an alternative participation method1–2 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Choose. Participation: Small groups with movement.
No record
- Place a position or card2–5 minutes from the start (3 minutes)
Action: Place. Participation: Small groups with movement.
No record
- Adjust relative positions with neighbours5–8 minutes from the start (3 minutes)
Action: Adjust. Participation: Small groups with movement.
No record
- Introduce only if willing8–10 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Introduce. Participation: Small groups with movement.
No record
Facilitation steps
- For 1 minute, show the floor's north, south, east, west, and broad regional areas, explaining that placement is not at address level.
- For 1 minute, explain three choices: not moving, using a region card, or passing.
- For 3 minutes, each person chooses a position or card corresponding to a region they may share.
- For 3 minutes, check the level of regional detail with neighbours and adjust only relative positions if needed.
- For 2 minutes, starting with the most distant regions, only people who want to speak briefly introduce the region's name.
If something changes
If
When choosing positions begins, one or more people choose participation without moving.
Then
Give them a region card so they can participate just by holding it up from their current position.
If
During position selection, even one person says they do not want to show a place in detail.
Then
Do not ask for the detailed location; let them choose again between a broad regional band, such as east or west, and passing.
If
Eight or more people gather in the same regional band and cannot take one step away from one another.
Then
Have only that band stand in two rounds, without combining relative positions from the first and second halves.
Preparation
Materials
- One east, west, south, and north sign each per group
- One region card per person that can be shown while seated
Room and setup
- Space for movement and an alternative surface for participating from an existing position
Adjust for people and time
With 5–20 people, stand simultaneously in one space. With 21–40, divide each regional band into first and second halves and use the same floor in turn. With 41 or more, divide the participant count by 20 and round up to determine the number of groups, distributing people evenly into groups of no more than 20. Do not take addresses, cards, or body arrangements outside the group; the facilitator totals only each group's participant and pass counts.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not use this where location disclosure creates a safety risk or non-moving participation cannot be offered. Allow cards, broad regions, and passing without detailed location questions. Make introductions optional; do not photograph or record speech or layouts. Keep addresses, cards, and body arrangements within the group, combining only the participant and pass counts specified by the source.
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: People map
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/tools
anti-copyright adaptation; changes made
- Conditions for applying 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.