Dyade

Posted by Julia and Sylvia from Plenum

TARGET GROUP

Group size

2 – 500

Subgroup size

pairs

More infos to group size

Divide groups of any size in pairs of 2 or 3 (interview partners)

Is participant experience relevant?

It's okay if participants haven't seen the inside of a classroom in years.

Physical trust needed

Mental trust needed

MATERIALS

Material Description

Pairs of 2 or 3 have predefined questions noted somewhere.

Create materials quick and dirty

5 min

Create materials with love and care

20 min

REQUIREMENTS

Duration

30 minutes – 60 minutes

Experience level of the facilitator

taken part OR some facilitation experience

Number of facilitators

Location requirements

Having the possibility to go for a walk during the Dyade is nice.

CHARACTER OF THE METHOD

Level of activation

activating

Woo-Woo Level – How touchy-feely is this method?

From 1.Rationalist-Materialist “No feelings here, folks.” to 5.Esoteric-Shamanic Bleeding Heart:

Innovation Phases:

• 3 Fostering New Perspectives & Ways of Thinking

Method Category:

• Appreciative / Community building
• Awareness raising
• Problem Solving
• Reflection

SHORT DESCRIPTION

The Dyade is a very structured conversation between two persons using pre-defined questions. The same questions are asked again in several rounds, allowing a more and more profound understanding.

ALTERNATIVE NAME OF THE METHOD

Structured Dialogue

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

PURPOSE/AIMS:
This method is an easy-to-use tool for intensive self-reflection, reflection on the learnings of a workshop or for finding motivation for a project. It can also be used to reflect private intentions (e.g. occupational change) or to reflect interpersonal relations.

Its learning targets are:
- Self-reflection
- deeper analysis of a topic
- empathic listening

The aim is to go deeper into an issue and discover motivations/triggers. The same questions are asked again and again for several rounds (at least two times). It is most important that the answering person has time to think and answer. The person asking the question may not interrupt those that are answering, but listen with full attention.

PRINCIPLES:
• The listener renounces every comment, every review, every requestioning. He/She does not comment with his/her position or views on the issue. This is how we create a "resonance space" for the speaker.
• The resonance space gets wider, the more the listener succeeds to stay in contact with his/her own heart. Stop the mental activities of thoughts and evaluations as much as possible: only the heart resonates and perceives.
• A first impulse is triggered by the first question the listener poses. The speaker takes this first impulse and brings it into communication. He/She does not try to filter, but expresses what comes up first as an answer. Be surprised by your own answers!
• Through fully expressing your thoughts without holding back, the speaker experiences integration, awareness and life energy, which was previously bound or hidden. This enhances the flow of relationship to oneself, the others and the environment.
• After each answer the listener says "thank you," as a way of completing the communication act before the next question is introduced.

RELEVANCE FOR SUSTAINABILITY
The method questions superficial thinking. It leads to a deeper analysis of the chosen topic. This, in turn, can lead to a more “sustainable” thinking, since decisions are given serious thoughts and values as well as desires are mediated by deeper principles.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Wolfgang Stabentheiner is the author of this kind of Dyade. See also www.future.at

A similar description you can also find here: http://www.partizipation.at/dyade.html

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

PREPARATION (excluding materials)

FOR HOST:
Identify 4 to 6 questions you want your participants to work with, write them down on a flipchart (also write down the "thank you" at the end), and ask participants to write the questions down on their own sheet of paper/moderation card, so they can go for a walk and take the questions with them.

1 First round

Pick an interview partner and look for a quiet place or go for a walk to do the exercise. The participants take the questions with them, which have been introduced by the host.

Interview partner 1 (IP1) asks interview partner 2 (IP2) the first question. IP2 answers the question. He/She can talk the full amount of time or use it for thinking about his/her answer. It is important that a) IP1 does not interrupt or ask further questions and b) IP2 ends his/her answer in a clear and noticeable way. IP1 says "thank you" after each answer and continues to ask the next questions.

2 Second round

After all questions are asked the roles are reversed: IP2 asks IP1 the questions and gives him/her the time to answer them.

3 Repeating rounds and possible questions

After both partners have answered the questions a new round with the same questions starts. First IP1 asks and IP2 answers and then vice versa again. The number of rounds is dependent on the available amount of time. It is recommended to have at least 2-3 rounds, as different answers will arise, always moving deeper and deeper into the resonance space the listener creates.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
For self-reflection:
- What do you consider to be a fulfilling life?
- What makes it hard for you from time to time?
- What does the world need for a successful change?
- What is your contribution to this change?

Concerning the motivation for a project/plan:
- Why is this project/plan the best possible way for you?
- What can you do especially well in this area?
- What could be the challenges?
- What would be alternative ways to reach your goal?

After a workshop:
- Tell me about your personal developments in the last few hours/days?
- Tell me a moment where you were surprised about yourself.
- What experiences do you take home?
- How do you want to keep your experiences alive and remembered?
- How did your comprehension change?
- Follow-up question: In which areas do you still act in a way that might not be appropriate?
- How would you solve these problems?
- Which specific initiatives would make sense?
- Name one specific next step.
- What support do you need to get there?

HARVEST

After having done the Dyade in pairs, it is recommended to come together as a group and exchange experience of the exercise -- either content-wise or relating to the method. Don't force the participants to talk about the content, but leave it open to them what they want to share.

FURTHER INFORMATION

http://www.partizipation.at/dyade.html (in German)

Trainers for this method can be hired here:

http://www.plenum.at/ http://www.plenum.at/de/wer-wir-sind/team.html

Train-the-trainer seminars for this method can be found here:

http://www.future.at/

Anything else one should know about this method?

There are different variations of this method. So you might find other settings which could also fit your framework.
The above described approach is, in our experience, a well proven way to do the Dyade.