Test your reading of someone while you are still talking

Check your reading of another person while the conversation is still going, instead of acting on it and finding out later.

Por qué funciona

Torbert (2013) argues that first- and second-person research encourage on-the-spot and at-the-moment validity tests (checks run in the moment, not afterward), and that interest is growing in the validity of intersubjective research (research that happens between people, in the exchange itself) carried out during the act (while the action is still under way). In a conversation the test is whether your reading survives the other person’s response. On this view the validity sits in the exchange between people, not only in a report written about it afterward.

Cómo hacerlo

1. Notice the point where you have formed a reading of what the other person means.
2. Say the reading out loud as a question, not as a conclusion.
3. Watch the response for whether it fits what you thought.
4. If it does not fit, say so and ask again, rather than defending the first reading.
5. Afterward, write one sentence about what your reading got wrong or right.

Evidencia

Torbert (2013) presents on-the-spot, during-the-act validity testing as part of his developmental action inquiry, and notes growing attention to this kind of intersubjective research. It is a method he proposes and illustrates, not an outcome study of this practice. (mechanistic)

The claim concerns the validity of the inquiry, not whether it changes outcomes. The sources read do not establish outcome effects for it.

Fuentes

• Torbert, W. R. (2013). Listening into the Dark: An Essay Testing the Validity and Efficacy of Collaborative Developmental Action Inquiry for Describing and Encouraging Transformations of Self, Society, and Scientific Inquiry. Integral Review, 9(2), 264–299.

Error común

Phrasing the check as a leading statement, so the other person can only agree with your reading.