Method guide · Progress through phases
Two truths and a lie
Use to get acquainted through three self-chosen stories, with ordinary introductions, passing and ending always available.
- People
- 3–12
- Base procedure time
- 15 minutes
- Recording
- No record
Purpose: Begin together; Build working relationships.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
Get acquainted through three stories while leaving disclosure choices with the person. Each person prepares two true stories and one invented story and tells them in any order. Listeners indicate the one they think is invented. The person then reveals the answer or passes without revealing it. Treat switching to an ordinary introduction as equal participation. Do not ask about family, health, finances, experiences of harm or other circumstances the person has not volunteered. Do not record notes, guesses, correct-answer counts or passes, and do not compete over cleverness or surprising private lives. Do not run this where a game involving falsehood would damage trust or safety, or where people cannot choose what to disclose.
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.
- Reconsider disclosure and alternative participation0–1 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Choose. Participation: One round of 3–12 people.
No record
- Prepare two true stories and one invented story1–3 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Prepare. Participation: One round of 3–12 people.
No record
- Tell the three stories in any order3–9 minutes from the start (6 minutes)
Action: Tell. Participation: One round of 3–12 people.
No record
- Let listeners identify one invented story9–13 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Guess. Participation: One round of 3–12 people.
No record
- Reveal the answer or pass13–15 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Reveal. Participation: One round of 3–12 people.
No record
Facilitation steps
- For 1 minute, explain that only stories people are willing to disclose should be used, and that they may switch to an ordinary introduction, pass or end partway through.
- For 2 minutes, each person prepares two true stories and one invented story and writes three lines on a blank note that others cannot see.
- For 6 minutes, each person reads the three stories in any order within 30 seconds. Listeners do not ask for personal details.
- For 4 minutes, listeners indicate the one they think is invented within 20 seconds, without competing over accuracy or the speaker’s cleverness.
- For 2 minutes, each person reveals the answer within 10 seconds or passes without revealing it. Do not record notes, guesses or correct-answer counts.
If something changes
If
During preparation or the round, even one person indicates passing or switching to an ordinary introduction.
Then
Make the change without asking why, and do not record that person’s three stories or choice.
If
During guessing, at least one question asks about family, health, finances, experiences of harm or other circumstances the person has not volunteered.
Then
Stop the question and let the person choose withdrawing the story, rephrasing it or ending.
If
At the 13-minute point from the start, at least one person has not given their answer.
Then
Let the remaining people choose revealing their answer or passing without revealing it. Do not extend the session or have them present again to the whole group.
Preparation
Materials
- Blank private notes for preparing three stories: one per person
- Pens: one per person
- Pass, ordinary-introduction and end cards: one set per person
- One set of one-minute-per-person signal cards for the facilitator
Room and setup
- Provide a circle where one speaker at a time can be heard and seats where people can switch to an ordinary introduction or passing.
Adjust for people and time
For 3–12 people, use one circle and one round with a maximum per person of 30 seconds for sharing, 20 seconds for guesses and 10 seconds for the answer. For 13 or more people, divide into circles of 3–12 with no more than one person’s difference in size, and assign a facilitator to each circle. Do not take stories, guesses or correct-answer counts outside the circle or present them again to the whole group.
Safety and non-applicable situations
The person chooses disclosure, ordinary introduction, passing or ending. Do not ask about unvolunteered private circumstances, compete over cleverness or surprising personal lives, or record stories, notes, guesses, correct-answer counts or passes. Do not use this where falsehood in a game harms trust or safety.
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 source asks participants to write three lines on private notes, but also says not to record notes. It does not define the scope of that no-recording instruction or a retention/disposal procedure. Both statements remain; the translation adds no disposal step.
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: Two truths and a lie
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/tools
anti-copyright adaptation; changes made
- Conditions applying to anti-copyright
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/resources
anti-copyright
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.