In the 1800s, wagon circling was a strategic move by settlers to protect against Native American attacks. For our visual learners, here’s an image…
In nature, circling up is also a strategic move used to protect the herd against predators. Again, for the visual learners…
While it’s no longer the 1800s and we’ve evolved past our animal brethren, humans still unconsciously participate in the habit of circling up. The most obvious example of this is on dance floors…
When women step onto a dance floor together, the group unconsciously starts to form a circle. As a circle they can better see each other, feed off of each other’s energy, and protect each other from the hunters of the dance floor. Circle’s provide a sense of comfort and safety. Creating a circle with your friends is fine if you are just there to enjoy the dance with them. But if you are the host, or leader, of the dance, circles are your enemy.
Take the idea off the dance floor and bring it to any event. If your goal is to make the event successful for everyone, then you need to first make sure you don’t fall into the natural habit of forming a defensive circle with your friends, and second you need to become good at circle busting. By that I mean get good at recognizing circle formations and breaking them up before they become too defensively strong for anyone to penetrate.
