Method guide · Progress through phases
Missing Sentence
Add missing facts, perspectives, or conditions without repeating or rewriting the shared statement.
- People
- 3–18
- Base procedure time
- 20 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Generate ideas; Explore through dialogue; Reflect and learn.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
A conversation in which people read a shared statement and add only a sentence that is not yet there. Use it when summaries favour the majority, the same explanation is repeated without progress, or overlooked conditions appear after a decision. Each person writes one missing fact, perspective, or condition in one sentence and shares it in turn. By removing paraphrases of existing content and evaluative terms, the group examines the omission itself rather than volume of speech or agreement and disagreement. The result is a list of missing information kept separate from the original shared statement. Do not use it where the truth of facts must be decided on the spot or sharing information would compromise safety.
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.
- Place the shared statement0–2 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Place. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Write what is missing2–6 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Write. Participation: Each person.
Individual record
- Add a sentence6–12 minutes from the start (6 minutes)
Action: Add. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
- Remove duplication12–16 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Remove. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
- Check the additions16–20 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Check. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 2 minutes, display a one-sentence statement of where the discussion stands and explain: ‘Add only a sentence that is not already here.’
- For 4 minutes, each person chooses one missing fact, perspective, or condition and writes just one sentence on a missing-sentence card.
- For 6 minutes, each person reads one card in seating order. If it is new, put it on the relevant level, one card at a time.
- For 4 minutes, mark paraphrases of the shared statement or earlier cards and put them aside with cards containing only evaluative terms.
- For 2 minutes, read the remaining cards in the order of facts, perspectives, and conditions, checking their differences from the original statement.
- For 2 minutes, move the remaining sentences to the missing-information list and choose one item for the next conversation.
If something changes
If
After 2 minutes of individual writing, at least one third of all cards are blank.
Then
Check in turn whether the shared statement lacks a subject, period covered, or condition under which it holds.
If
In the first half of turn-taking, at least half the cards are judged to be paraphrases.
Then
People in the second half switch focus to a different affected person, a different point in time, or an exception condition.
If
After duplicates are removed, 12 or more cards remain.
Then
Mark only sentences that can be checked in the next conversation and bundle the others in a pending area.
Preparation
Materials
- One shared-statement card for the group, approximately A4 size
- 3 missing-sentence cards per person, approximately A6 size
- One dark-coloured pen per person
- One large sheet of paper or whiteboard for the missing-information list
Room and setup
- One semicircle of chairs from which everyone can read the shared statement and additions list at the same time
- One display surface with 3 levels for missing facts, perspectives, and conditions
Adjust for people and time
With fewer than 3 people, use an individual version because there is little breadth of omissions: one person writes one card each for a fact, perspective, and condition. Up to 18, use one turn-taking sequence with one sentence per person. Above 18, form groups of no more than 6. Each group selects one sentence each for fact, perspective, and condition. Bring only those 3 sentences per group to everyone, remove duplicates, and transfer them to one surface.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not use the method to decide factual truth on the spot or share information that would compromise safety. Keep additions separate from the original statement and remove mere paraphrases or evaluation-only cards.
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.
- Materials allocate 3 cards per person, while individual writing specifies one sentence on one card. The blank-card branch uses one third of all cards as its threshold without defining whether that means all issued cards or only cards currently being used. This draft preserves the statements without choosing a denominator.
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.
- Taiwa no Fumen editorial team: Missing Sentence
Original description and illustrations
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.