Everything You Need

Resources for Participants & Facilitators

All materials are open-source and free to use, adapt, and share — with credit to Edwin Rutsch and the Empathy Center.

Resources you'll use during your four-session cohort — plus materials to keep and share after you graduate.

For Participants For Facilitators Session Archive
How To Take Part in an Empathy Circle
During Training

For Training Participants

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    After Graduation

    For Facilitators & Trainers

    Everything you need to host circles, lead trainings, and introduce the practice to new contexts. Open-source — use, adapt, and share freely with credit.

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      Open Source License

      You are free to use, study, modify, distribute, and build on this training. Please give credit: Edwin Rutsch and Lidewij W. Niezink, and link back to bestempathytraining.com or theempathycenter.org.

      The Empathy Center →
      The Training

      Course Outline

      Four live sessions over four weeks. Each session below links to Edwin's video overview — expand to watch and read more about what each session covers.

      The foundation session — what empathy is, why it matters, and your first experience inside a live Empathy Circle. Edwin introduces the values and vision that underpin the entire training.

      After this session you will have experienced a full Empathy Circle, understand the role of Active Listener and Speaker, and be ready to begin your weekly buddy practice calls.

      0:00INTRODUCTION by Edwin Rutsch
      02:47Acknowledgments
      07:43Attendee Roles: Participants, Trainees, Trainers
      10:48Learning Pyramid
      13:01SESSION 1 OUTLINE (2 hrs. 30 min)
      Full Group (30 min)
      Breakout Rooms (1.5 hr.)
      Full Group Debrief (30 min)
      13:47FULL GROUP
      Producer Welcome
      15:17Participant Check Ins (~20 min)
      16:05Course Objectives
      17:08Course Arc
      17:08Culture of Empathy Values
      21:21Your Most Important Values
      22:27How To Empathy Circle
      23:06Breakout Room Description
      25:20BREAKOUT ROOMS
      27:03FULL GROUP DEBRIEF
      Learnings Debrief
      28:00Closing
      28:25Assignment
      Reference Material & Links
      EmpathyCircle.com
      Values of a Culture of Empathy — The Empathy Circle fits into a larger vision of a Culture of Empathy: building a culture based on mutual empathy between all people of the world, as well as humans and nature. The Empathy Circle is a wonderful first step practice and process to help build a Culture of Empathy. See an initial list of values that make up this culture →

      You move from participant to facilitator. Learn how to open a circle, introduce the How To, and guide a group through the full process for the first time.

      By the end of session 2 you will have practiced facilitation in a live setting and received feedback from the group and from Edwin. The How To document becomes your primary facilitation tool.

      0:00SESSION 2 OUTLINE
      Full Group
      Breakout Rooms
      Full Group
      02:30FULL GROUP
      Participant Check Ins
      Q&A Feedback
      Breakout Room Description
      04:25BREAKOUT ROOMS
      05:33Participant Facilitate Mini Empathy Circles
      09:34Give the 'How To'
      12:32Prepare to Give the 'How To'
      17:37FULL GROUP
      Learnings Debrief
      Closing

      Facilitation deepens. You work with the Challenges Catalog — real situations that arise in circles and how to navigate them. This is where your facilitation confidence builds.

      After session 3 you will be fluent with the How To and able to introduce and navigate common facilitation challenges — difficult emotions, talking over, withdrawing, and more.

      0:00SESSION 3 OUTLINE
      Full Group
      Breakout Rooms
      Full Group
      02:00FULL GROUP
      Participant Check Ins
      Q&A Feedback
      Breakout Room Description
      04:13BREAKOUT ROOMS
      05:54Participant 1 facilitates Empathy Circle
      CHALLENGES
      08:50What are Challenges?
      10:20Challenge #1 — Silent Listener Interrupting
      12:33Challenge #2 — Participant Objecting to Process
      15:00Challenge #3 — Active Listener not Reflecting Accurately
      18:03Challenges Catalogue
      23:28Get Feedback
      25:40FULL GROUP DEBRIEF
      Learnings Debrief
      Closing

      The final session. You facilitate with full choice — using the How To and Challenges as you see fit rather than as required structure. Certificates are issued. The next steps for spreading the practice are discussed.

      Graduates leave with their Empathy Circle Facilitator certificate, the full open-source toolkit, and everything needed to begin hosting circles immediately in any context.

      0:00SESSION 4 OUTLINE (2 hrs. 30 min)
      Full Group (30 min)
      Breakout Rooms (1 hr. 30 min)
      Full Group (30 min)
      02:01FULL GROUP
      Participant Check Ins (~20 min)
      Q&A Feedback
      Breakout Room Description
      04:12BREAKOUT ROOMS
      05:36Participant 1
      10:24FULL GROUP
      Learnings Debrief
      Closing
      See It in Action

      Videos

      Watch the practice, the movement, and the community in action.

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      More videos at EmpathySummit.com and the Culture of Empathy YouTube channel