Method guide · Progress through phases
Count to ten
Coordinate an unplanned count through voice or personal number cards without scoring success, blaming overlap, or recording results.
- People
- 5–20
- Base procedure time
- 10 minutes
- Recording
- No record
Purpose: Begin together; Build working relationships.
English guide
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How this method works
A cooperation method for connecting numbers from one to ten, one at a time, without a set order. Participants indicate just the next number through voice or their own number cards. The same person does not go consecutively. If two signals overlap or a number other than the next appears, return to one without pointing out a person. Stay silent for twenty seconds before restarting; do not discuss an order or signals. Even if ten is not reached within the time, leave no record of the highest count or who failed. Do not record the count reached, restart count, or people whose signals overlapped, or use these to compare groups. Do not use this where signals not solely dependent on speech and hearing cannot be provided, or where people compete over numbers of successes.
Phase schedule
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- Check no fixed order, one number per person, and restarting0–2 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Check. Participation: Everyone, able to perceive one another's signals.
No record
- Aim for ten using voice or number cards2–5 minutes from the start (3 minutes)
Action: Count. Participation: Everyone, able to perceive one another's signals.
No record
- Return to one after overlap without blaming anyone5–7 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Return. Participation: Everyone, able to perceive one another's signals.
No record
- Count again after twenty seconds of silence7–9 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Restart. Participation: Everyone, able to perceive one another's signals.
No record
- Finish without competing for the highest count9–10 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Close. Participation: Everyone, able to perceive one another's signals.
No record
Facilitation steps
- For 2 minutes, confirm that people do not discuss an order, each indicates only one number, the same person does not go consecutively, and overlap means returning to one.
- For 3 minutes, someone begins at one and the group aims for ten, indicating numbers one at a time through voice or personal number cards.
- For 2 minutes, if two signals overlap or a number other than the next appears, return to one without pointing out a person.
- For 2 minutes, leave twenty seconds of silence and begin again with the same rules, without discussing an order or signals.
- For 1 minute, even if ten has not been reached, do not record the highest count or who failed; optionally reflect in one brief word only on the feeling of waiting.
If something changes
If
Before starting, one or more people cannot participate through speech or hearing alone.
Then
Give each a personal number-card set and treat either voice or a card as one signal under the same rules.
If
Voices or cards from two or more people appear simultaneously, or a number other than the next appears once.
Then
Return to one without pointing out a person, leave a twenty-second silent interval, and then restart.
If
7 minutes after the start, ten has not been reached.
Then
Do not compete over numbers of successes. Read out the highest count at that point and finish, without discussing a predetermined order or signals.
Preparation
Materials
- One personal set of number cards 1–10 for each participant not using voice
- One whole-group set of ten/restart/finish facilitation cards
Room and setup
- A circle where people can perceive one another's voices or number cards
Adjust for people and time
With 5–20 people, use one circle and one number sequence. With 21 or more, do not automatically split to make success easier; run separate sessions of 5–20 instead. Treat voice and cards as the same kind of signal, and do not take counts reached, restart counts, or identities of overlapping contributors outside the session.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Provide signals that do not rely solely on speech or hearing and treat voice and personal cards equally. Do not identify or blame people for overlapping signals. Keep no record of counts, restarts, or who overlapped, do not share these outside the session, and do not compare groups or compete for success.
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.
- Seeds for Change Facilitation Tools: Count to ten
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/tools
anti-copyright adaptation; changes made
- Conditions for applying anti-copyright
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/resources
anti-copyright
Diagram, print, and video language
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Editorial provenance
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