Paired listening
Practise sustained attention while helping someone clarify their thinking.
5–15 minutes · 2 people per group
Use this activity in the Studio →Source timing: 5 - 15 minutes. The range above is given by the source. Source group guidance: 2 people per group. This describes the playing group, not a maximum attendance for the whole event.
Intention / Goal
Practise sustained attention while helping someone clarify their thinking.
Materials
Timer
Facilitator & access notes
No personal disclosure is required. Offer ordinary paired conversation if an extended listening turn feels unhelpfully artificial.
How to facilitate it
- Form pairs and agree who speaks first on a chosen question.
- Give the speaker an uninterrupted turn while the listener attends and leaves room for pauses.
- If useful, let the listener briefly check their understanding; then swap roles for an equal turn.
Reflection prompts
- Notice: What did this activity reveal about how we work together?
- Carry forward: What would you like to try next?
Credit & lineage
Seeds for Change (documented version; original creator not established).
Concise original Playformation facilitator wording based on the Seeds for Change guide. Consent/access alternatives and estimated planning defaults are identified; this is not a claim of original authorship.
Anti-copyright: you may copy, adapt, use and distribute this adapted entry, provided the resulting work remains anti-copyright. Source: https://seedsforchange.org.uk/resources
Seeds for Change: Paired listening ↗
Seeds for Change facilitation tools PDF, page 21 ↗
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