3Practice Circles
In a nutshell, this is what happens in a 3Practice Circle
Six kinds of 3Practice Circles
3Practice Circle Rules are a bit like an engine that — if you adjust it properly — can drive a number of different vehicles — from passenger cars, to minivans, to pickups … or like an all purpose flour that can be used to make everything from biscuits to naan, to pasta.
Here are six kinds of Circles...
Discovery Circles
3Practice Discovery Circles help people understand each other.
The differences we explore in Discovery Circles are rarely disputes. They are, mostly, revelations of things about us that no one would guess and no one would know unless we chose to disclose them.
3Practice Discovery Circles create space for understanding that sometimes we see things differently — and sometimes we see different things.
In Discovery Circles we practice being unusually interesting in the other.
Discovery Circle Examples:
"Why can’t we talk to each other?"
"When did someone convince you to think differently?
“Why can’t we talk to each other?”
Difference Circles
3Practice Dispute Circles generate clarity between folks who disagree.
Do people change their minds? Rarely. But if someone’s mind isn’t already made up, anyone in the Circle has a shot at convincing them.
And clarity is its own reward. When we come to see people who disagree with us each other more clearly, we can decide whether they're a threat or merely a nuisance. Getting clear about that helps us decide how we’ll treat each other in real life.
In Difference Circles we practice staying in the room with difference and not comparing our best with other’s worst.
Difference Circle Examples:
"Who are 'they' and what are you afraid they’d do if they thought they could get away with it?"
"Is racism as American as apple pie?"
Story Circles
3Practice Story Circles are storytelling as a team sport.
Most 3Practice Circles begin with differing opinions, beliefs, or lived experiences. Story Circles begin with personal stories that reveal something true about us.
Every good story has a twist. 3Practice Story Circles work a single twist into a variety of stories.
The rules are the same: two minutes for the volunteer … Clarifying Questions that begin with “I’d be curious to know…” The Refs decide when to move to the next round. And, as always, we end with Thank-yous.
Story Circle Twist Examples:
"That’s when I quit..."
"Obviously, we had a problem..."
Support Circles + Lament Circles
3Practice Support Circles and Lament Circles make space to express brokenness, anger, injury, abandonment, loss, hope deferred…
These Circles pick up on a notion in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. “The world breaks everyone,” he wrote, “and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”
A volunteer talks for 2 minutes then, together, we draw out that person’s story, saying, “I’d be curious to know what happened next” … “I’d be curious to know what think that means” … “I’d be curious to know if there are others who are walking with you through this”….
In Support Circles and Lament Circles we practice being unusually interested in the other and not comparing our best with others’ worst.
Support Circle Examples:
“Are you OK?”
“What do you do about your anger?
Lament Circle Examples:
“If only…”
“What … or Who … have you lost?”
Insight Circles
3Practice Insight Circles explore provocative ideas and points of view widely available through public media.
3Practice Insight Circles create space for reactions to important — or potentially important — books, essays, reporting, online posts, speeches, debates films, and other media events.
Perhaps it goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway): "I didn’t read the book but…" is not a particularly strong start if you decide to take your two minutes. = - )
In Insight Circles we practice being unusually interesting in the other, staying the room with difference, and not comparing our best with others’ worst
Insight Circle Examples:
"What did you take away from the debate?"
"What stuck with from reading the book, Jesus and John Wayne?"
Solution Circles
3Practice Solution Circles increase the depth and breadth of organizational intelligence for decision-making.
A lot of organizational decision-making is in trouble before it begins because there are perverse incentives for stakeholders in one silo to hold out on the rest.
3Practice Solution Circles harness the power of 3Practice rules to get at the sort of organizational intelligence that’s often obscured by group-think, mission drift, bad or incomplete information, irrelevant power struggles, and other blind spots.
Solution Circles ensure that every point of view on the team can be heard and explored by leveraging the shared knowledge and wisdom of the whole team to explore the strengths, weaknesses, risks, costs, and potential rewards of competing proposals.
In Solution Circles we practice being unusually interested in others and not comparing our best with others’ worst.
Solution Circle Examples:
"If we had to decide today..."
"If I were in charge..."