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3.7
Practicing Generosity of Interpretation
Submitted by Shannon Wheatley Hartman
This activity helps participants develop a practice of patience and generous interpretation during discussions. By crafting and practicing specific “mind tricks,” participants can learn to listen and engage in discussions with a more generous mindset.
Learning Goals
Improve patience and decrease negative, reactionary impulses in a discussion.
Practice generous interpretation by ritualizing mental tricks.
Instructions
Set Up: Prepare for the Activity
Organize participants into small groups (4-6 ppl).
Begin by introducing the learning goals of this activity.
Step One: Create Patience Principles (10 min)
As a full group, invite participants to generate a list of statements that are designed to encourage patience and generous interpretation in a discussion.
Share some of the following examples to spark ideas.
Language is imperfect and we are all imperfect speakers.
What is said and what is heard are not always aligned.
None of us are perfect listeners.
Focus on the idea, not the person.
Being inarticulate means to struggle with big ideas.
Innovative ideas are often misunderstood at first.
Look for the “nuggets of truth” in all statements.
Never aim to embarrass or humiliate.
Step Two: Identify Common Annoyances in Discussions (5 min)
In small groups, ask participants to quickly identify 5 - 10 common discussion annoyances that tend to incite a harsh or impatient reaction from them. For example,
When someone shares inaccurate information with a lot of confidence
When someone says something that is culturally insensitive
When someone speaks from a place of anger
Instruct each group to select their top three annoyances.
Step Three: Craft Mental Tricks for Generous Interpretation (20 min)
Invite participants to craft three specific mental tricks they can use in a discussion to help them practice patience and even generous interpretation in response to each of the annoyances their group identified. Prompt:
For example, when someone makes a statement that you think is completely wrong or even bizarre, what sort of mental trick can you employ that would force you to pause and practice generosity?
Maybe you could try to reimagine the person who made this comment as your most respected professor or colleague.
If this person made the comment, how would you respond? Maybe you would still be confused and even disagree, but how would you express yourself to this person?
Would you ask clarifying questions? Would you speak respectfully? Would you put yourself through mental gymnastics to try to understand their perspective?
The “mental trick” is to now extend these generous responses to a person who you do not know.
Step Four: Debrief as a Full Group (10 min)
Let’s start with annoyances! What are our top and favorite discussion annoyances?
What are some of the strategies or mental tricks that you created to address these annoyances?
What are some common themes or strategies in our mental tricks?
When is this approach a bad idea? When should we not seek out the most generous interpretation of what someone is saying?
TIME
45
min
MODULE
Critical Collaboration
This activity can be completed by any discussion group.
This activity might be considered high energy or more playful than other activities.
This activity is focused on developing or supporting listening skills. See Sample Listening Certificate Program Design to illustrate sample sequencing.
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Share them in the comments below!
0 Comments
YD
December 3, 2022 at 1:58:08 AM
Activity 4.8 provides useful phrases and techniques, as well as helps participants develop their own, to join in during discussions and express their views according to the goals they choose for themselves on what they want to offer to the discussion and how they want to be perceived.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 1:52:48 AM
Activity 4.7 uses a tactile and fun method, like a bag of beans, to have participants experience what it is like to have different amounts of power in a conversation. This activity also highlights how we base our ideas of how power is distributed on stereotypes.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 1:48:29 AM
Activity 4.6 employs useful tools like the Question Chart to help participants learn how to craft "good questions" that move beyond any assumptions they have about the views of others based on stereotypes or third party descriptions, and unearth their true views on the issue.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 1:45:08 AM
Activity 4.5 uses visual aids like the Emotion Wheel to push participants to move beyond just cognitive empathy and shows how to reflect back the emotions and understand their source through dialogue. It also helps participants differentiate between messages of intentional empathy and problem-solving.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 1:39:46 AM
Activity 4.4 uses both individual written reflection and discussion in small and large groups to explore the which aspects of a person's identity we use to determine if they should be included in the conversation on a particular issue. This activity also give participants to practice explaining and negotiating who is chosen.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 1:33:37 AM
Activity 4.3 uses physical movement and both lighthearted and serious topics to help participants see how positions on different topics lie on a continuum and how positions can change as one is exposed to new information or perspectives. Participants also flex their imaginative and creative muscle by arguing for the position opposite to theirs.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 1:28:28 AM
Activity 4.2 breaks down the individual aspects of active listening into separate rounds/steps to help participants consciously and methodically learn and practice this skill.
YD
December 3, 2022 at 1:25:28 AM
Activity 4.1digs deep into the many facets of social identity, by using drawing, as well as both written silent reflection and verbal discussion in small and large groups.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 6:26:51 AM
Activity 3.8 easily helps visualize the many dimensions of a topic by using the fishbone diagram.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 6:24:44 AM
Activity 3.7 provides useful mind tricks to help practice patience and giving people the benefit of the doubt, thus creating the sense of psychological safety required in collaborative efforts.