Reading and Respecting the Circle

The circle is the ultimate source of information for you, the facilitator. That circle will tell you what it needs, where it wants to go, and how you can help it get there. Listen, and the information will come to you. Respect for the circle comes through your use of several techniques discussed in this chapter. I describe the three different ways of listening, and how to develop that most important facilitator’ s tool, your radar. Then I will teach you ways of building rapport between you and your circle and amoung the people in your circle.

Remember to Breathe

Before reading the group, place both your mind and your body in a receptive mode. To place yourself in that mode, consciously and constantly maintin deep breathing from the center of your being. If you find yourself overwhelmed by the information coming to you while you are reading the circle, you may notice that you have short and shallow breathing. Bringing your breath down into your body will ground you in preparation to facilitate.

Reading the Group as One Body

If you are always listening to your circle they will give you the feedback you need to create a learning experience for all of you.

A drum circle of any kind is a living, breathing, entity that is interdependant on all the parts of itself. These parts are moving and dancing together on instruments with a force and a focused intention to create rhythmical synergy as one body.

All the information that you as facilitator need to help guide the drum circle to its goal exists inside the interaction in the circle. As a facilitator it’s in front of you, behind you, and all around you at all times, and that information is ever-changing in-the-moment. The two most important aspects that will define the quality of your interaction with a drum circle are the following:

• Your ability to read the group as one body. Doing this allows you to access and utilize the information that is available to you at all times. When you see the group as one body, made of many different individual interactive parts, it helps generate the proper attitude, focus, and respect for the whole group’s objective. This gives you access to a lot more information from the group in-the-moment.
• Your ability to establish trust and rapport within the group. This comes from having a complete understanding of your group’s purpose and ultimate goal and then using that understanding to actively advocate for that goal. In some events part of your service as facilitator is to help define the group’s goal as the rhythmical event unfolds.

An important aspect to balance, as facilitator, is the tradeoff between knowledge of facilitation tools and techniques, and an understanding of when and how to use them. Knowing when and how to use the tools is based on being able to read the group. When you read the group you see, hear, and feel where the group is, emotionally and technically, at any given moment. Remember that the moment changes with every beat.