- Speaking Circles
Speaking Circles are small groups of 8-10 people who come together to feel at ease in
public speaking . Originally developed as a way to combatstage fright , independent practitioners now also report successful applications to treatingstuttering citation | title=The value of Speaking Circles for those who stammer | author=Allan McGroarty | publisher=British Stammering Association | year=2001 | url=http://www.stammering.org/speakingcircles.html | accessdate=2008-07-31] ,Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder citation | title=Speaking Circles Applied to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) | author=Dr. Marilyn Kroplick | publisher=New Horizons for Learning | url=http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/adhd/kroplick.htm | accessdate=2008-07-31] and other social challenges.History
Speaking Circles was developed in the late 1970s by former stand-up comedian Lee Glickstein, who codified the methods he found successful in addressing his own experience of stage frightcitation | title=Be Heard Now! | author=Lee Glickstein | publisher=Broadway | year=1999] . Subsequently, Glickstein registered the name Speaking Circles as a trademark and incorporated a business, Speaking Circles International, to deliver training using his methods through a network of licensed facilitators. The Speaking Circles website now lists over 50 facilitators who have paid for initial training and ongoing certification and who now operate their own practices across the
United States ,Belgium ,Canada ,England ,Ireland ,Germany ,Netherlands ,Mexico andJapan .Relational Presence
The core of Glickstein's method is a state of mind he calls "Relational Presence", something he describes as "a state of receptivity to another without agenda or effort."
Traditional
oratory and rhetorical approaches to public speaking highlight performance as a key to engaging and holding an audience. Metaphorically, speakers are seen as connecting with their audiences by 'reaching out' to them through compelling words, gestures and arguments.In contrast, speakers applying Relational Presence techniques invite connection by establishing a sense of intimate safety. The speaker and each audience member understand that it's OK to simply be themselves and no performance is required.
Training Methods
Licensed facilitators teach Relational Presence through an approach sharing elements in common with
Group psychotherapy . It aims to gradually repair the damage left behind from any earlier public traumas in life.* Circle meetings last no more than two and a half hours, usually including a tea break.
* In a brief introduction, the facilitator reminds participants of the groundrules described below, then every person present stands up in front of the group for a 3-minute "check in" turn, though there is no requirement to speak at all..
* Each group member takes it in turn to talk for five minutes "on stage", again with no requirement to speak, cued to finish in 30 seconds when the facilitator raises his or her finger.
* Other group members forming the audience provide unconditional support and positive acceptance, both by remaining still and by paying full attention during the speaker's turn and by making only positive comments afterwards in feedback.
* Listeners give positive brief appreciations of the essential qualities they experienced in the person. They refrain from mentioning the person's content; evaluating or comparing the turn with previous turns; or coaching, analysing or advising. Speakers do not comment on feedback beyond acknowledging it.
* Between turns, group members do not talk amongst themselves or comment on other turns.
* Group members respect the confidentiality of what is said, and do not repeat the contents of turns outside the Circle without specific permission.
* Facilitators offer the option to videotape each person's turn, using a tape that each participant brings for that purpose and which they can take away to review their turn in private.
* When everyone has had their turn up front, the facilitator ends the formal meeting with a few words and there is an opportunity for social interaction.
References
External Links
[http://www.speakingcircles.com/ Official Speaking Circles International website]
[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20060318a1.html "Speaking Circles sets natural tone for open arms", The Japan Times Online]
[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/05/27/JOBSdobson.DTL&hw=speaking+circles&sn=004&sc=805 "Just Don't Say "Um", San Francisco Chronicle]
[http://www.citylit.ac.uk/cou_sub_st_cs.php Account of applications of Speaking Circles to speech therapy]
[http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:m_gjllf1FWoJ:66.129.68.164/newsletter/may2006/may_2006_newsletter.pdf+%22speaking+circles%22+prisons&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=14&gl=us&client=firefox-a "Focusing in Prison", By Gena Corea, Staying in Focus, The Focusing Institute Newsletter, Volume VI, Number 2, Applications of Focusing, MAY 2006]
[http://www.turningtooneanother.net/world.html "Turning to One Another", World Conversation Initiatives. Speaking Circles is listed among others as a resource in this directory]
[http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Columns/?article=PublicSpeaking Web article - "Scarier Than Surgery": Public Speaking - MSN Encarta]
[http://www.csus.edu/indiv/k/kiddv/CreativeSolutions/pages/speaking_circles.html Global Ideas Bank listing of Speaking Circles]
[http://www.newhorizons.org/lifelong/adolescence/medine.htm "Speaking Circles Applied to Adolescents", Leslie Medine and Edd Conboy]
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