What are the five levels?
Put simply they are cliché, facts, opinions, feelings and complete
openness.
Level 1: cliché – when we walk down the street, avoiding the bus
stop this time, we may pass people who look familiar to us and say,
“Morning!” or “Alright mate?” It is the “How are you?” answered by
the “Fine”. Cliché is the start of a conversation, often a vital and necessary stage when meeting someone for the very first time. But try to
have a conversation using only clichés. It will strain you! If we only
exist at this most basic of levels we will never share any of ourselves.
And that is the point. We don’t wish to share any of ourselves with a
stranger or a passing acquaintance. It’s a way of being polite and
friendly but keeping our distance – the equivalent of taking our hat
off.
Exercise: try to talk to a partner using only level 1 clichés for as long
as you can. Have a third person to observe you and feedback how it
looked and how it felt trying to sustain the conversation.
Exercise: the next time you are walking down the street see how
people react when you smile at them and say, “Good morning.”
Discuss with a friend: sometimes level 1 is better than level 0…no
contact at all.
Discuss with a friend: have there been days when you have had no
contact with anyone at all, not even level 1? How did it feel?
Exercise: write down/ discuss as many types of ways people communicate at level 1 with both words and body language. Compare
with another couple.
Blob YMCA Training Manual
Growth does not reside in a place called comfortable