DIRECTION SET for ​DIALOGUE ACTS
You will need: ​A.C.T.S flipcharts
DIRECTION SET for ACTS:
Directions
We are going to treat this space as a spectrum, with one end of
the spectrum being “strongly agree,” and the other end
“strongly disagree.”
In just a moment, I am going to read a statement. After the
statement is read, we will position ourselves along the
spectrum according to whether or not we agree or disagree
with that statement.
What questions are there?
Questions about
instructions?
STATEMENT 1:
“Dogs are the best pets”
Dogs are the best pets.
Allow time for everyone to move and position themselves along
the spectrum.
Great, now that we have all picked our place on the spectrum,
let’s direct our attention to the letters on the wall.
Can I get a volunteer from the disagree side to come over here
and remove the Letter C and ask the question behind it to the
opposing side?
The volunteer will then remove the letter “C” and hand it to you
co-facilitator who will quietly take it and post it on the opposite
wall, positioning it to ultimately spell out ACTS.
The volunteer will read the question behind this large letter “C”
to the opposing side: “Could you Clarify what you mean when
you say ‘best’?”
Allow only 1 response from the opposing side.​ (We have
found that participants tend to think of this as a “sharing”
exercise, but the activity is meant to give them experience with
how important “asking questions” is.)
Volunteer for C
Clarifying question
​
​
Okay, let’s get 1 response to our clarifying question!
After the first response, thank the person who responded and
then ask THEM to ask the same question to the other side.
This pattern not only affirms each participant, but it also
reinforces the practice of asking questions, not taking more
opinions.
Thank you for that response. Now, can I get you to ask that
same clarifying question to the other side?
st​
1​ response to C
st​
1​ response person asks
C question again
After getting that 2nd response, ask a volunteer to remove the
next letter, T.
Thank you for that response. Now, can I get a volunteer from
the agree side to read the question behind the letter “T” to the
opposing side?
Volunteer for T
Tell me more question
The volunteer will then remove the letter “T” and hand it to your
co-facilitator who will take it and quietly post it on the opposite
wall after the “C.”
The volunteer will read the question behind the large letter “T”
to the opposing side: “Would you Tell me more about your
perspective on pets?”
st​
1​ response to T
After the first response, thank the person who responded and
then ask THEM to ask the same T question back to the group.
Thank you for that response. Now, can I get you to ask that
same Tell me more question to the other side?
st​
1​ response person asks
After getting that 2nd response, ask another volunteer to
remove the next letter, S.
Thank you for that response. Now, can I get a volunteer from
either side to read the question behind the letter “S” to anyone
in the group?
T question again
Volunteer for S
Share a Story question
The volunteer will then remove the letter “S” and hand it to your
co-facilitator who will take it and quietly post it on the opposite
wall after the “T.”
The volunteer will read the question behind the large letter “S”
to the group: “Would you share a Story about your experience
with pets?”
st​
1​ response to S
After the first response, thank the person who responded and
then ask THEM to ask the same question back to the group.
Thank you for that response. Now, can I get you to ask that
same share a story question to someone from either side?
st​
1​ response person asks
S question again
After getting that 2nd response, ask a volunteer to remove the
next letter, A.
Thank you for that response. Now, can I get a volunteer from
either side to read the question behind the letter “A” to the
group?
Volunteer for A
Arrange space for
different perspectives
question
The volunteer will then remove the letter “A” and hand it to your
co-facilitator who will quietly take it and post it on the opposite
wall before the “C” to complete the word ACTS.
The volunteer will read the question behind the large letter “A”
to the group: “What perspectives haven’t we heard yet?”
st​
1​ response to A
After the first response, thank the person who responded and
then ask THEM to ask the same question back to the group.
Thank you for that response. Now, can I get you to ask that
same different perspectives question to someone from either
side?
st​
1​ response person asks
A question again
After getting the final response to the “A” question, redirect the
group to round 2 of the activity. Follow the same series of
nd​
instructions for the 2​
STATEMENT 2:
st​
statement as for the 1​ .
nd​
Move to 2​
statement:
Same process:
Now that we have practiced asking these questions to
understand more about our perspectives and experiences with
pets, let’s try asking these same questions with a statement
related to a more challenging issue.
Remember we will continue to treat this space as a spectrum.
Based on where your perspective falls between Strongly Agree
and Strongly Disagree, take a stand on the following
statement:
“Political correctness is overrated.”
Great, now that we have all picked our place on the spectrum,
let’s practice our question asking muscles again, using the
same questions from the first round to learn more about the
different perspectives in the room regarding political
correctness. We may have to re-word some of the questions or
statements to fit the new prompt.
For example, we may need to substitute the word “best” which
is shown on the first large post it which asks about clarification
for another word that makes more sense.
Who would like to start by asking a “C” or Clarifying question to
the opposing side?
Now that we have practiced asking each of the four questions
for this round, let’s direct our attention to the other wall. You
will notice that the large letters we removed to reveal each
question during round one have been rearranged to spell the
acronym A.C.T.S.
Review A.C.T.S.
Let’s take this time to review what question each letter
represents.
A – Arrange space to invite different perspectives.
C – Clarify terms or concepts being used.
T – Ask someone “Tell me more about your perspective on…”
S – Ask someone to Share a Story about their experiences.
Dialogue IS action so we
call this Dialogue ACTS
You may have heard people say that dialogue is all talk and no
action. But, when people ask these types of questions, they
tend to dialogue more and argue less. They are, thus, more
likely to understand each other’s perspectives. So, we call this
our Dialogue A.C.T.S.
Debrief
Surprising?
Exercised new muscles?
DEBRIEF:
●
Was there anything you heard that surprised you? If so,
what was it?
●
In what ways did asking these four A.C.T.S. questions
feel like exercising new muscles?
●
How might you use ACTS in your role on campus?
TRANSITION:
Let’s return to our seats in the circle for our closing activity.
Apply to role?
Transition
RETURN to CIRCLE