Comfort Circle

Instructions: 

  • Tape two large concentric circles on the floor. Large enough for groups of people to be inside each ring. 

  • Everyone starts standing outside the outermost circle

  • The moderator reads a series of questions about a given topic. For example: 

    • How comfortable are you eating dry cereal/cereal without milk?

    • How comfortable are you talking about racism?

    • How comfortable are you talking about sex?

  • Based on levels of comfort with the given question they will either:

    • Stand inside the innermost circle if they are super comfortable with the topic

    • Stand in the middle circle if they are somewhat comfortable

    • Stand outside both circles if they are totally uncomfortable with the topic

  • During each movement, ask a few students to share why they are comfortable and/or how they developed a level of confidence/comfort on the topic. Ask other students why they may be uncomfortable and/or if they would like to gain the confidence to address such topics.

  • Reconvene and discuss reflections on the interactive dialogue

Modifications: 

The Comfort Circle is similar to “Step Forward, Step Back” in which everyone lines up on one side of a straight line. If they are comfortable with a specific prompt, they step forward across the line. If they are not, they stay back. 

Praxis (why + theory):

The visual component of this exercise enables intimate cross-talk. I like to invite people on the outside to share the reason for their discomfort, and ask those on the inside how they achieved the level of comfort and/or confidence that positioned them at the center. 

Many of the prompts broach potentially taboo subjects. As a result, in the cross-talk the “why” and “how” questions become motifs as we explore whether someone even wants to shift in their disposition towards a particular subject–e.g. do you want to be more comfortable discussing your finances? 

A comrade, Ariel Barlow, and I used this activity to engage teachers in a critical self-assessment about their pedagogical and interpersonal approaches to personal self-care, collective labor, and spatial awareness. Through the Comfort Circle activity, teachers were challenged to consider active and potential approaches to encouraging student agency, self-advocacy, and critical consciousness within their respective classrooms.