[Ailist] thoughts on working in pairs in small groups

[Nick Heap]

Hi Lynne and all,

I absolutely agree about the value of working in pairs. I think it works
because it increases the amount of attention in the room. Most people are
almost desperate to be listened to profoundly and without interruption. I
use "pairs and share" in many settings, it's even valuable if you want to
get the best thinking out about a technical topic. For introductions, it
works better for me to have the person who has been interviewed to introduce
him or herself to the group. If the interviewer does it, that person may get
a nuance wrong or disclose something the interviewee would rather not share.
It is much easier to be open in a pair than in a group.

Pair work works well to resolve tensions in groups too. When people are
fighting or arguing, they aren't usually listening. If you just ask people
to turn to their next door neighbour and spend a few minutes each way
listening to how the other person is feeling and their best ideas for moving
things on, the conflict usually gets resolved very quickly indeed. The
clearest theory for explaining why this happens is in the literature of
re-evaluation counselling www.rc.org. Essentially this says that attention
helps you release blocking emotion that gets in the way of you thinking.
Nancy Kline's book "Time to Think", available from Amazon, is full of
practical ways to use this approach. It complements AI nicely.

Best wishes,

Nick Heap

+ 44 (0)1707 886553

Web with more information and developmental ideas: Practical developmental
ideas http://www.nickheap.co.uk