Oh those barriers for saying what I think! And here I call out not the loudest seat that I often take. No. I’m calling out the silent ones, the shy spirits hiding in the corner of the room. The lurkers.
Only when I started to work with groups of people face-to-face as a facilitator I could notice these invisible walls inside the group and inside people that prevent the rainbow out of group voices appearing.
As a facilitator, I quickly learned the popular tricks to help people to open up. Breaking down the group into pairs, groups of 3 and 4 and 5; flipping between individual work into pairs and larger groups; expanding the comfort zone in steps.
But still the core question on why it’s so hard to share our own voices in front of other people keeps nudging my mind.
So, why?
Safety
Many people admit feeling like an imposter. The invisible fear of judgment.
“I come back because I feel heard,” said a school kid to me this week at the community project in the museum.
As a participant in some group work, I remind myself, how do I feel (at the meeting) and how can I make myself more comfortable?
As a facilitator, I try to remember that comment on being heard and create a safe space for people to share. I bring sweets and wear what I wear! Oh those colours always disturb some serious faces. But we all ended up smiling throughout the session!
Habit
I think self-discovery time is so important in general, for everyone. But it seems that only in current generations people go about self-knowledge. Even to me, discovering what “reflection” is was mind-blowing!
Format
Sharing opinion through words means using the head. But if my preferred way of communication (or an ice breaker at least) is hands-on activity? Or a feeling?
So here are some thoughts on sharing one’s voice. What are yours?