Method 3: Monitoring my body language (Respect for self and others)

(State of mind for engaging in dialogue, Respect for self and others, dialogue scene 8, in English 7)

The goal is to learn to become aware of one's body language and recognize the messages it sends. This means a skill to see and hear oneself – to monitor oneself – as if through the eyes of another person. Monitoring one's body language ought to be done regularly so that one learns to recognize one's habits and mannerisms and, if necessary, to develop them so that they show respect towards others.

Instructions

• Participants form small groups (the groups must be different from the ones in the previous exercises). Each participant writes down on coloured sheets of paper the small actions, revealed by body language, from which the others see and hear that the participant respects himself/herself and others.
• The sheets of paper are then set on the table where everyone can see them, but they are not talked about at this point.
• Each participant chooses a role (e.g. teacher, student, colleague, employer, employee) and a real life example situation.
• The participants take turns to act out their roles by using their body language to express the actions that they wrote down while they also speak in a respectful manner (paying attention to the tone of voice, volume, and how they stress their words).
• The other participants share their observations concerning the body language of each participant.
• The experiences are talked about in small groups.

Reflection in the learning community: The whole group jointly reflects upon their experiences of the task and thinking that it caused. One useful question for this reflection is ”What did you become aware of during this task?” Another, more demanding question, is ”What did you learn from this task?” The purpose of the reflection is that several participants, not only some, share their thinking and experiences. When the reflection part is completed, every participant has gained an understanding of how their body language inevitably shows genuine respect for themselves and others. This enables the participants to continue monitoring their body language and the small actions that show respect in practise.