This activity is sort of a higher-intensity version of Round 3 of the Across the Room exercise. In this activity, in the course of reinforcing the boundary that is being crossed, the participant will use a combination of body language, the Four Skills (Name it, Direct it, Repeat it, End it), fighting stance, and vocal tone, volume, and inflection in order to also back the boundary-encroacher across the room. It’s a great high-energy opportunity for folks to get to really practice mixing up lots of different boundary setting tools and feel powerful doing it.
Requirements:
Enough unobstructed floor space for participants to move around. Two instructors. About 30-60 seconds per class participant.
Instructions:
An instructor will be the boundary-encroacher, and will practice this activity with participants one at a time. The participant will again pick a secret spot on the floor that they do not want crossed, and will use an assortment of skills to not only hold that line, but also back the instructor up across the room. People get to practice making themselves big and intimidating and aggressive, pushing back the boundary-encroacher with energy and volume alone. Encourage the other participants to cheer each other on! Noise helps. It’s great for participants to feel supported by each other.
(Comfort and energy levels of the participants affect the success of this activity. We’ve found it to be most successful near the end of a class, and especially the last class in a series — once participants have had a chance to get more comfortable with each other and with the material. And it’s very important for the instructors to really crank up the energy level and engage the whole group.)