What would happen to your organization if you could build stronger, deeper relationships with each other and your customer?

When we hear the expression ‘talking in circles’ we often think about people talking round and round and going nowhere. Bill’s keynote Talking in Circles is not that! Rather, it is all about people talking round and round with care and empathy, and getting to the heart of things.

At one of the Talking in Circles workshops Bill was holding he sat at a table with a group of people and they did what is called a ‘go round’, which is where you ask a simple question to get people used to talking in the circle. The question was “What are your expectations of the day?” The answers were the usual, “I want to learn how to communicate better with my colleagues.”” I am interested in how storytelling can be used in our workplace.” but one of the gentlemen said, ”Actually, I’m not even sure I should be here. I think I am getting a divorce.” Everyone at the table knew each other and this revelation hit like a bombshell. What happened next was what often happens with Talking in Circles, everyone started to share what are called their ‘emotionally parallel stories’.

When you hear someone’s story the brain immediately searches for an ‘emotional parallel’ in your own life. That is a story of your own that is similar enough that you can relate their emotional world to your emotional world. Thus, understanding and compassion grows. At the end of this particular Talking in Circle session everyone felt heard and connected in a way they had not expected.

“If you don’t understand someone’s actions, you don’t know enough about their story.” is a quote from a Restorative Justice advocate which Bill uses to open his audience to the idea that stories change people.

Joseph Campbell, a true master teacher of narrative and mythology said, “People forget facts, but they remember stories.” We are truly a ‘story species’. The process of sharing stories is how we best learn and develop an interconnected understanding of our reality. Story sharing helps us to better see and relate to the world around us.

Ancient cultures from around the world have gathered people in circle to share stories and dialogue on issues of mutual importance. By Talking in Circles they have been able to create, celebrate, restore and solidify community. Gathering together and Talking in Circles is a practice for evolving healthy and productive group and tribal connection.

In his keynote Talking in Circles, Bill discusses how the need for circle dialogue has never been greater. Broken relationships, broken communities, broken societies surround us every day. As Ester Perel, a relationship expert points out, the need for deep meaningful relationship is a vital aspect of mental health. We spend so much time with our work colleagues and our customers that it is vital to our wellbeing that our relationships at work – work.

Bill also shares the significant neuroscience of interpersonal neurobiology behind how Talking in Circles works. He discusses the active entrainment that occurs when effective listening happens and how mirror neurons serve to create real empathy and compassionate action that can then easily follow. This compassion and empathy can then be shared with everyone with whom we come in contact in our daily living.  

Talking in Circles offers a place to share our personal struggles, challenges, victories and questions. It is also a place to dialogue collectively about the reality we all share. The axiom, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” is never more true than when we are Talking in Circles.

Talking in Circles celebrates diversity, belonging and inclusion and helps nurture compassion and connection. The implications of this practice at work and in our society are vast and transformative.