Which of these are you?

Asking this question is such a great way to open up and reveal more – a goal for qualitative researchers.

Lots of people enjoy working out ‘who they are’… and when you give people options to choose from – are you this, this or maybe this? – they often find the question really motivating and compelling – they want to know more about themselves – and how they fit into the world (vs other people).

An example: I love this warm-up in a workshop – as an ‘introducer’ you have to pick which you are: deluded, confused or angry? These are the three root hindrances in Buddhism. It’s funny to introduce yourself from this perspective, it’s a bit humbling (which helps prevent unpleasant attempts at status grabbing) and participants learn something about themselves too.

Really this is just material – it opens up the conversation – so you can ask follow ups – ‘how come?’ ‘give me an example?’ And actually you can dig into ‘parts’ questioning too – to acknowledge people are complex and interesting and contradictory – ‘which part of you is…?’

Material like this can be used lightly – in a jokey way… but also deeply when you want to create more intimacy and explore more…