Method guide · Progress through phases
Appreciative Interviews
Learn from concrete experiences of success, with the storyteller controlling what is shared.
- People
- 2–40
- Base procedure time
- 60 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Reflect and learn; Build working relationships; Explore through dialogue.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
A conversation structure for listening to each other's best experiences and making the conditions for success concrete. Use it when reflection keeps analysing causes of problems without sharing actions or environments that have already worked. In pairs, ask about an actual event, its turning point, the people involved and the conditions that supported it. Switch roles and explore the second experience at the same depth. In a group of four, the listener introduces the partner's story only within the scope the storyteller has permitted, and the storyteller confirms or corrects it. Allow people not to share, then identify conditions common to several stories. The result is a record of concrete events and conditions for success that may be reproduced. Do not use it for experiences where pressure to tell a positive story would cause distress.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
Use the arrow keys, Home or End while these controls have focus. The complete phase schedule remains below, including without JavaScript.
- Prepare the question0–5 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Prepare. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Listen to an experience5–25 minutes from the start (20 minutes)
Action: Listen. Participation: 2–3 people.
Individual record
- Switch roles25–45 minutes from the start (20 minutes)
Action: Switch. Participation: 2–3 people.
Individual record
- Share the stories45–55 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Share. Participation: Groups of 2–5.
Shared record
- Connect the conditions55–60 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Connect. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 5 minutes, read together an interview question asking for one specific experience in which the person was at their best.
- For 15 minutes, the first storyteller describes the event and its turning point. The listener records actions, the people involved and the conditions.
- For 5 minutes, the listener summarises the record back to the storyteller. The storyteller corrects differences and chooses conditions they would like to reproduce.
- For 15 minutes, switch roles and explore the second person's experience using the same question and record fields.
- For 10 minutes, join two pairs into a group of four. Listeners introduce only what their storytellers have permitted and confirmed.
- For 10 minutes, distinguish conditions shared by the four stories from conditions specific to one story, then transfer one of each to the whole-group record.
If something changes
If
Five minutes after the interview starts, only general evaluations have been offered and there is no concrete event.
Then
Ask about the place, the other person and the first action that occurred, returning to one specific scene.
If
During the interview, the storyteller indicates twice that they do not want to talk about the experience.
Then
Close that experience and switch to a small everyday success or an observable example involving someone else.
If
Five minutes into identifying conditions, there are at least 3 abstract terms, such as ‘trust’, with no concrete detail.
Then
Add one action and one environmental condition through which each condition became visible.
Preparation
Materials
- One interview sheet per person, with fields for the event, turning point and conditions
- One dark-coloured pen per person
- 6 success-condition cards per sharing group
- One surface for the whole-group record
Room and setup
- Seats for pairs far enough apart that their voices do not mix; use one group of three if the total is odd
- Arrange seats so two neighbouring groups can join easily
Adjust for people and time
With 2 people, finish after the reciprocal interviews. For 3–40 people, form pairs; if the total is odd, make only one group of three. In that group, divide the interview time into three equal parts and rotate storytellers so everyone's experience is heard. After the interviews, join two pairs into a group of four. Join a pair to the group of three to make five. Any remaining pair or group of three shares within its existing group. Each group transfers one common condition and one distinctive condition to the whole group. Above 40 people, use separate rooms.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not force a positive story or onward sharing. The storyteller sets the permitted scope and can confirm or correct the listener's account. If the person twice indicates that they do not want to discuss an experience, close it and use a different example.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- The original phase totals and the more detailed step timings use different groupings. Both are retained exactly; this draft does not substitute an official version's timing or silently repartition the Japanese steps.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Liberating Structures Fieldbook (2026): Appreciative Interviews — Henri Lipmanowicz / Keith McCandless / Nancy White
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/appreciative-interviews
Adaptation under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes made
- CC BY-SA 4.0
Current-page licence notice
This explanation is an adaptation for Taiwa no Fumen based on the official Liberating Structures page linked below. The manuscript's recorded references are listed separately from the web page checked on 17 October 2026.
Changes: the Japanese explanation and facilitation plan have been edited for Taiwa no Fumen. The English edition translates that Japanese manuscript; it is not a verbatim translation of the official page.
The LS-adapted text on this page, including this site's editorial and translation contributions, is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. When reusing it, credit the creators, identify the source and licence, indicate changes, and follow the licence's ShareAlike terms when sharing adaptations.
This site's notation diagrams and on-screen illustrations explain the facilitation process. They are not presented as official LS icons.
Method names are used to identify their sources. This is not an official LS website, and no endorsement or approval by the creators or rights holders is implied.
This notice does not grant blanket permission to reuse third-party photographs, logos or linked materials. Trademark, personality and other rights are addressed separately.
Materials created before June 2026 may carry different terms. Check the terms attached to an older item before reusing it.
To the extent permitted by law, the source materials and adaptations are provided without warranties. See the legal code for details.
Credits on the checked source page
- Developed by: Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
Related work credited on that page: David Cooperrider; social constructionist model.
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Appreciative Interviews.
Source lineage
- Original repertoire (2013): Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
- 2026 Fieldbook: Keith McCandless, Nancy White
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
Original Japanese guide, diagram, and print view. Their labels and print text have not been translated; an English print edition is not provided here.
English video-library navigation. Original Japanese audio, subtitles and transcripts remain labelled Japanese resources. Their translations are separate later work. No remote player is embedded here.
The manual English phase controls are a navigation aid, not a live facilitation timer. Interactive diagram motion remains pending.
Editorial provenance
Japanese source status and logs are provenance only. They do not mean this English text or interface was field-tested. Historical fixed-text acceptance and hold records remain specific to their recorded versions; displaying them neither asserts current acceptance nor resolves source-specific restrictions.