Purpose of the exercise:

• interpersonal communication training,
• practising setting boundaries,
• developing active listening skills,
• increasing self-awareness and awareness of others.

Procedure:

Participants form pairs. If the group is large, pairs can be assigned randomly to encourage interaction with different people.
The facilitator explains that the aim of the exercise is to practise expressing personal preferences and boundaries in a respectful and non-judgmental way. Participants are reminded that they may choose how much they want to share.
In pairs, participants take turns completing the following sentence stems:
- "I like..."
- "I avoid..."
They can refer to everyday situations, ways of working, communication styles, hobbies, environments, or other non-sensitive topics.
After each statement, the listening partner may ask one or two clarifying questions to better understand the speaker's perspective. The goal is curiosity and understanding rather than discussion or evaluation.
Participants then switch roles so that each person has equal time to speak and listen.
After both rounds, pairs spend a few minutes reflecting on:
- what they learned about their partner,
- whether they discovered any similarities,
- how it felt to talk about preferences and boundaries.
A brief group debriefing may follow. Participants can share general observations about the experience, without revealing the content of their partner's statements.

Methodological guidelines:

• emphasise confidentiality and respect for personal boundaries,
• make it clear that participants may pass on any question or statement,
• encourage active listening and discourage giving advice or judging responses,
• a written version can be used for participants who prefer not to speak,
• avoid interpreting or analysing participants' statements,
• focus the discussion on communication processes rather than personal disclosures,
• remind participants that differences in preferences are natural and valuable within a group.