Ground Rules
In many settings, groups are used to the idea of agreeing certain rules, often including confidentiality, inclusivity, respect and safeguarding.
Ground Rules are a vital aspect of Transforming Conversation groups, but they can also be used in a variety of other settings. Reading the ground rules at the beginning of every conversation, ensures they remain a present reminder to individuals of the commitment they make to taking responsibility for their conduct within the group.
Ground rules help to ensure the safety of the group. They are a statement of intent and are used with the recognition that we all break them at times but their existence and the regular acknowledgement of them, gives facilitators the permission to draw a group’s attention back to them, when necessary.
The basic ground rules:
Be attentive
Listen with care: two ears, one mouth
Welcome silence as a gift
Be Open
Reverence others’ experiences
Respect all other views
Be delighted
Curious and ready to change with
perpective and humour
Be trusted
Keep what’s said in the group
Ready to apologise and forgive
Adopted February 2024
Artwork ©Emma Cutland
Ground Rules ©transformingconverstation.org.uk
- Listen carefully to others in the group and be curious
- Respect everyone’s right to an opinion, even if yours is very different
- Talk from your own feelings and experience
- Choose not to make judgements about others
- Don’t talk for too long
- Be prepared to modify your opinion
- Share only for yourself
- Be civil to others and respect the confidentiality of the group
- If you don’t know- say you don’t know
- Use language that everyone understands and be prepared to explain your thinking underlying something you have said.
The language and phrasing can be altered to make it more appropriate for your group but there is an expectation that they will include the basic ethos and values expressed here.
Adopted November 2023
