That is the whole process. At its heart, it is that simple. Sometimes, though, someone sets the tone and gets things started, and someone signals the end of the meeting. As the focus of our attention moves around and around the circle, it spirals down into deeper shared understandings, richer shared meanings, and a growing sense of a shared, evolving story. Although sometimes we go around only once, our best circles result from going around at least 3 or 4 times, with people speaking briefly if necessary to permit more rounds.
Brevity can be very powerful.
It is also important to sustain everyone's attention. A well-functioning circle should help those who usually speak a lot say less and those who usually don't speak up to say more. Silence It helps to remember that the essence of these circles is listening and speaking from the heart. We can learn a lot about silence from Quakers, whose traditional meetings for worship have little or no ritual, leadership, or conversation, nor do they take turns around a circle. Rather, they sit in a silence which they perceive as being filled with Spirit.