Method guide · Arrange people and ideas
User Experience Fishbowl
Listen to people's own accounts of using a service before adding outside interpretations.
- People
- 15–100
- Base procedure time
- 60 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Reflect and learn; Explore through dialogue; Build working relationships.
English guide
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How this method works
A conversation method in which people share their experiences in an inner circle while an outer circle listens without speaking yet. Use it when discussion of service users' experiences is overtaken by supporters' or professionals' interpretations, obscuring the person's events and feelings. The inner circle shares concrete experiences with one another while the outer circle records only observations and words they want to quote. Waiting until question time to speak helps retain the person's account without mixing in evaluations or advice. The result is a record of experiences in the people's own words and the outer circle's observations. Do not use it for experiences whose public telling would undermine psychological safety.
Phase schedule
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- Arrange the inner and outer circles0–5 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Arrange. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Choose an experience5–15 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Inner circle.
Individual record
- Tell the experience15–35 minutes from the start (20 minutes)
Action: Tell. Participation: Inner circle.
Shared record
- Pass in questions35–50 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Pass. Participation: Outer circle.
Shared record
- Connect observations50–60 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Connect. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 5 minutes, place 5–7 people with relevant experience in the inner circle and the remaining participants in the outer circle, and explain the distinction between speaking and observing.
- For 10 minutes, each person in the inner circle chooses one concrete experience of use they can discuss and notes the sequence of events.
- For 20 minutes, only the inner circle talks through events, turning points, and effects in order, with the people sharing experiences asking one another follow-up questions.
- For 8 minutes, the outer circle reads back the people's quoted words and its observations to the inner circle, without adding evaluations or advice.
- For 7 minutes, the outer circle passes in only factual clarification questions, no more than one per person, and the inner circle answers only as far as it can.
- For 10 minutes, everyone records similarities and differences in the experiences and selects one situation of use to examine next.
If something changes
If
Five minutes after the storytelling begins, only one person in the inner circle has spoken.
Then
Without naming the next speaker, invite each person in turn to add one sentence about a turning point in the events.
If
During the outer circle's feedback, 3 consecutive statements contain advice or evaluation.
Then
Underline words the person actually used and reread only those quotations.
If
Four minutes after questions begin, people have indicated at least twice that they do not want to answer.
Then
Close that topic, collect the question cards, and move to a different situation of use.
Preparation
Materials
- Inner-circle chairs for 5–7 people with relevant experience
- Outer-circle chairs (1 per remaining participant)
- Observation sheets (1 per outer-circle participant)
- Dark-coloured pens (1 per person)
Room and setup
- An inner circle approximately 2 m in diameter where people sharing experiences can see one another's faces
- One outer circle at least 1.5 m away from the inner circle
- One entrance and exit opening
Adjust for people and time
With fewer than 15 participants, there is little contrast between inner- and outer-circle observations, so shorten the format to 3 people sharing experiences and the observers. Up to 50 participants, use one inner circle of 5–7 people. With 51–100, split into venues of no more than 50 people and create one inner and outer circle at each venue. Each venue transfers just 3 quotations from the people sharing experiences to the whole-group record; do not merge the experience accounts themselves.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not use the method for experiences whose public telling would undermine psychological safety. Keep evaluations and advice out of the outer circle's feedback. The inner circle answers only as far as it can. Close a topic if, 4 minutes after questions begin, people have indicated at least twice that they do not want to answer. Do not merge individual experience accounts across venues.
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): User Experience Fishbowl — Henri Lipmanowicz / Keith McCandless / Nancy White
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/user-experience-fishbowl
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.
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Credits on the checked source page
- Developed by: Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: User Experience Fishbowl.
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.
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Editorial provenance
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