Method guide · Progress through phases
Two-turn Witness
Hear another person’s summary of an experience, then let its speaker correct the meaning before the group uses it.
- People
- 4–20
- Base procedure time
- 20 minutes
- Recording
- Shared 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
A conversation in which another person summarises a story before the original speaker corrects its content. Use it when fast speakers determine the discussion, people move on assuming they have listened, or departments’ terminology fails to connect. In circles of 3–5, each person tells an experience in the first round while the person to their right records as the assigned summariser. In the second, that summariser reads only the speaker’s main point. The speaker corrects one word or, if that cannot repair the meaning, replaces it with their own sentence. The result is a sequence of main points that tracks what was confirmed rather than who spoke. Do not use it for urgent decisions or where personal information cannot be shared with everyone.
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.
- Define the focus0–2 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Define. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Tell the experience2–8 minutes from the start (6 minutes)
Action: Tell. Participation: Groups of 3–5.
Individual record
- Pass on the main point8–13 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Transfer. Participation: Groups of 3–5.
Shared record
- Add corrections13–16 minutes from the start (3 minutes)
Action: Add. Participation: Groups of 3–5.
Shared record
- Choose a learning point16–20 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Groups of 3–5.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 2 minutes, give one focus and tell every circle of 3–5 that the person on each speaker’s right is their assigned summariser.
- For 6 minutes, speakers follow the order cards, taking no more than 60 seconds each. The person on their right records the main point in one sentence.
- For 5 minutes, follow the same order as each summariser reads the main point to its speaker in no more than 45 seconds.
- For 3 minutes, the speaker corrects one word or replaces the summary with their own sentence if needed; the summariser records it.
- For 4 minutes, each circle chooses one learning point to check next from the approved main points and posts it on the whole-group surface.
If something changes
If
Three minutes into the first round, at least one circle has heard from fewer than 3 people.
Then
Each person writes what they saw in no more than 5 words on a main-point card, reads it, then returns to the speaking order.
If
In the second round, speakers correct at least half the summaries.
Then
Summarisers remove evaluative terms and rewrite one sentence containing only what the speaker actually did or observed.
If
Two minutes into final selection, 5 or more main points remain.
Then
Mark only those that can be checked in the next week and retain up to 2.
Preparation
Materials
- One numbered speaking-order card per person
- 2 main-point cards per person, approximately A6 size
- One dark-coloured pen per person
- One large sheet of paper or whiteboard for the whole-group record
Room and setup
- One small circle per group of 3–5 where everyone can see each other’s faces
- One whole-group display surface with room for every person’s main-point cards from all circles
Adjust for people and time
With fewer than 4 people, use pairs and switch speaker and summariser roles. Divide the participant count by 5 and round up to find the number of circles, then distribute people into circles of 3–5 with sizes differing by no more than 1. Allow at most 60 seconds per person in the first round, 45 seconds in the second, and 30 seconds for corrections. Above 20 people, add circles using the same rule and display only one approved main point from each circle.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Use the speaker’s approved meaning, allowing a full replacement sentence if one word cannot correct it. Remove evaluative language. Do not use the method for urgent decisions or where personal information cannot be shared with everyone.
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.
- The below-four-person version specifies pairs but does not say how 3 people or a single person are handled. The following general circle rule also assumes circles of 3–5; these statements are preserved without adding a remainder procedure.
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.
- Taiwa no Fumen editorial team: Two-turn Witness
Original description and illustrations
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.