Circle Holding

By Julia Davis and Tessa Venuti Sanderson

Do you run a group or a circle?

Join us for insights into circle facilitation. We speak to people who have created spaces where people can speak without interruption and listen without judgement. You... more

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FAQs about Circle Holding:

How many episodes does Circle Holding have?

The podcast currently has 45 episodes available.

Circle Holding episodes:

October 13, 2024 A Labour of Love: Building a Circle Holding Non Profit with Becoming Mum's Liz Allum
In this episode with Liz Allum of Becoming Mums, we covered:
• The importance of having co-facilitators to support with the skills to read the room and create a permissive atmosphere
• How being clear about what your demographic needs is more important than what you want to do (and will help you get funding)
• Talking to existing organisations or projects that work with your demographic to see how they work and what gaps in provision there are so you’re not reinventing the wheel but creating allies
• The importance of paying artists a proper fee for their time in providing a creative aspect to your circle and how creating can support talking
• How you as a facilitator create the structure for the space, but then get out of the way of where the talking wants to go: it’s not about your agency but the people who are there
• Having shared experience / being a peer makes all the difference when inviting speakers to a circle
• How as a facilitator there might come a time when it’s right to move on because you’re no longer in the demographic
• Creating community and connections is what underpins change in society
You can order our book Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Holding-Practical-Facilitating-Talking/dp/1805013157/)
To learn more about facilitating circles you can join one of our trainings:
https://www.circleholding.org
Tessa's trainings can also be found at
[https://www.tessavenutisanderson.co.uk/circles/circle-training]
IG @tessa.venuti.sanderson
We love to hear from circle facilitators and circle goers so please email us at [email protected]
Music credit: Fabio Venuti
...more
42min
October 09, 2024Are Circles Woo Woo? with Julia and Tessa
Hippy? New Age? Or completely normal? It depends.
In this episode, we covered:
Talking circles are called by different names, including conversation circles, listening circles, sharing circles and groups (women's groups, men's groups, girl's groups)
Circle time can be very straight forward or contain lots of ceremony - it depends on the purpose and the demographic
Ceremony can be missing in many people's lives and be enriching
Having familiar words or practices (or rituals) can create a sense of safety and familiarity that helps settle people's nervous systems
There's space for all sorts of different circles
If you're unsure about going to one, contact the facilitator and ask what the circle is like
You can order our book Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Holding-Practical-Facilitating-Talking/dp/1805013157/)
To learn more about facilitating circles you can join one of our trainings:
https://www.circleholding.org
Tessa's trainings can also be found at
[https://www.tessavenutisanderson.co.uk/circles/circle-training]
IG @tessa.venuti.sanderson
We love to hear from circle facilitators and circle goers so please email us at [email protected]
Music credit: Fabio Venuti
...more
12min
October 06, 2024 Separation, Ordeal, Return: Creating Men's Circles with Lee Stegels
In this episode, Julia and Lee covered:
• How men are often attracted to circle when they’re at crisis point
• The application process for the closed group after being part of an open one
• The structure of the meeting allows deep sharings to happen: ‘freedom within form’
• How he provides several opportunities to talk, with longer each time for more depth
• Silence can be part of a person’s allotted time
• Structure, intention and timeframe are three important aspects to consider
• Rites of passage for men include grief and facing fear
• Working with 14-16 year old boys involves matching then with a ‘man of trust’ who has done his own work
• It’s important to attend a circle yourself as a facilitator and have your own self-practice
• Toxic masculinity is toxic terminology – there is zero tolerance to sexist, racist or homophobic language, but use of it rarely happens in circle
• Lee shares how to do an introduction to a men’s circle and a settling practice
You can order our book Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Holding-Practical-Facilitating-Talking/dp/1805013157/)
To learn more about facilitating circles you can join one of our trainings:
https://www.circleholding.org
Tessa's trainings can also be found at
[https://www.tessavenutisanderson.co.uk/circles/circle-training]
IG @tessa.venuti.sanderson
We love to hear from circle facilitators and circle goers so please email us at [email protected]
Music credit: Fabio Venuti
...more
31min
October 02, 2024Let's talk MONEY with Julia and Tessa
Should talking circles be free, by donation or be paid for?
In this episode, Julia and Tessa covered:
The hidden costs and time spent in running a talking circle
Avoiding facilitator burnout by being compensated for your time
Different models for running a listening circle
Getting funding to make the circle free for participants to attend
Experiences of trying to run a circle by donation
You can order our book Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Holding-Practical-Facilitating-Talking/dp/1805013157/)
To learn more about facilitating circles you can join one of our trainings:
https://www.circleholding.org
Tessa's trainings can also be found at
[https://www.tessavenutisanderson.co.uk/circles/circle-training]
IG @tessa.venuti.sanderson
We love to hear from circle facilitators and circle goers so please email us at [email protected]
Music credit: Fabio Venuti
...more
18min
September 29, 2024 Children's Circles and Rites of Passage with Jane Bennett
In this episode with Jane Bennett, we covered:
• How a circle format can work well for sensitive topics in general and to differentiate it from puberty lessons in school in particular
• We talked about how having a conversation before the circle can help manage expectations of what will happen
• How circle time can lessen feelings of shame or embarrassment and increase positivity around taboo subjects
• When crafts or other ways of keeping hands and eyes busy can be advantageous
• Why the process of normalising talking about difficult subjects is so important and how circle facilitators achieve that
• How you adapt for the people attending the circle, with the example of dads attending Fathers Celebrating Daughters events
• A fantastic tip for new (and old) facilitators on the importance of taking time to be present.
You can order our book Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Holding-Practical-Facilitating-Talking/dp/1805013157/)
To learn more about facilitating circles you can join one of our trainings:
https://www.circleholding.org
Tessa's trainings can also be found at
[https://www.tessavenutisanderson.co.uk/circles/circle-training]
IG @tessa.venuti.sanderson
We love to hear from circle facilitators and circle goers so please email us at [email protected]
Music credit: Fabio Venuti
...more
35min
September 25, 2024Stop interrupting! Attunement and Reciprocity in Listening with Julia and Tessa
In this episode about listening with Julia and Tessa, we covered:
The importance of the listener being attuned and not having an agenda
How wonderful when listening is reciprocal and the listener isn’t trying to fix anything
The signs of someone not listening to you
How to do a Listening Partnership
The joy of a longer term Listening Partnership
That self-worth can grow as someone feels their voice is important
You can order our book Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Holding-Practical-Facilitating-Talking/dp/1805013157/)
To learn more about facilitating circles you can join one of our trainings:
https://www.circleholding.org
Tessa's trainings can also be found at
[https://www.tessavenutisanderson.co.uk/circles/circle-training]
IG @tessa.venuti.sanderson
We love to hear from circle facilitators and circle goers so please email us at [email protected]
Music credit: Fabio Venuti
...more
22min
September 22, 2024Circle as the Container for Transformational Breathwork with Benedict Beaumont
In this episode, Julia and Ben covered:
How breathwork can be transformation and does involve deep feelings and going to somone’s edge
How to find look for a breathwork facilitator
Why framing and felt sense are the building blocks for creating an effective and safely held breathwork circle
Creating a sense of belonging for your participants
Fun and ice breakers as a corridor to deeper feelings
You can find out more about Benedict and Breathing Space HERE
You can join the Breathing Space Community HERE
You can order our book Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Holding-Practical-Facilitating-Talking/dp/1805013157/)
To learn more about facilitating circles you can join one of our trainings:
https://www.circleholding.org
Tessa's trainings can also be found at
[https://www.tessavenutisanderson.co.uk/circles/circle-training]
IG @tessa.venuti.sanderson
We love to hear from circle facilitators and circle goers so please email us at [email protected]
Music credit: Fabio Venuti
...more
34min
September 18, 2024 How to Hold Space for Big Feelings and Big Personalities with Julia and Tessa
Managing big, raw feelings and diverse personalities.
In this episode, we look at the common fear of new circle facilitators around managing big, raw feelings and diverse personalities. We discuss the balance between all feelings being welcome and allowing time for everyone to speak, between people being they're authentic self whether they tend to talk (a lot) or be very quiet and encouraging everyone to speak.
You can order our book Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Holding-Practical-Facilitating-Talking/dp/1805013157/)
To learn more about facilitating circles you can join one of our trainings:
https://www.circleholding.org
Tessa's trainings can also be found at
[https://www.tessavenutisanderson.co.uk/circles/circle-training]
IG @tessa.venuti.sanderson
We love to hear from circle facilitators and circle goers so please email us at [email protected]
Music credit: Fabio Venuti
...more
21min
September 15, 2024 Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: The Joy of Collaboration with Red School
Learn how the Red School founders successfully collaborate in holding space
In this podcast, we aim to bring you insights into circle holding, whether you are an (aspiring) circle facilitator or attendee, through interviews with experienced circle holders and conversations between Julia and Tessa, the founders of Circle Holding.
This week's guests are Alexander Pope and Sjanie Hugo-Wurlitzer, the founders of Red School and authors of Wild Power and Wise Power, who are excellent space holders in their trainings. See what we covered in this episode below. You can find more about their menstruality work at https://www.redschool.net/
In this episode we talked about:
• How co-facilitation can flow
• How preparation is key in forming the container to hold space and arrive empty to attune to what happens in the gathering
• How holding space is a creative process that also creates a new you
• A held space is a safe one, but also an emergent space for something new to happen
• That inner work is an essential part of being a facilitator
• Allowing your humanness is a gift to others when you are a facilitator and humanness in leadership is radical
• Bringing compassion to facilitation is essential because we will make mistakes.
You can order our book Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Holding-Practical-Facilitating-Talking/dp/1805013157/)
To learn more about facilitating circles you can join one of our trainings:
https://www.circleholding.org
Tessa's trainings can also be found at
[https://www.tessavenutisanderson.co.uk/circles/circle-training]
IG @tessa.venuti.sanderson
We love to hear from circle facilitators and circle goers so please email us at [email protected]
Music credit: Fabio Venuti
...more
40min
September 11, 2024What is Holding Space with Julia and Tessa
Taking responsibility for your group
In this episode we will be talking about the role of the circle facilitator.
When we talk to people about our book we are often asked the question: What is circle holding or holding space?
When we dreamed up the title of the book we knew exactly we wanted a step-by-step approach as you can see from the subtitle: "A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles" clarified our intention.
Included in this overview is the following:
*It is about having someone who takes responsibility for the space
As the facilitator you will have to make decisions about who speaks, for how long and when
*Sometimes you might have to interrupt people and that is why there is a level of skill involved in the role
*If you are already a teacher, group talking therapist, group coach, manager or space holder in other areas you are likely to have gained some of the skills required for talking circle and be drawn to doing this
You can order our book Circle Holding: A Practical Guide to Facilitating Talking Circles on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Holding-Practical-Facilitating-Talking/dp/1805013157/)
To learn more about facilitating circles you can join one of our trainings:
https://www.circleholding.org
Tessa's trainings can also be found at
[https://www.tessavenutisanderson.co.uk/circles/circle-training]
IG @tessa.venuti.sanderson
We love to hear from circle facilitators and circle goers so please email us at [email protected]
Music credit: Fabio Venuti
...more
18min

FAQs about Circle Holding:

How many episodes does Circle Holding have?

The podcast currently has 45 episodes available.