Circle guide for companies
A listening circle after the screening of the 15-minute short film. For those who lead the conversation in teams, HR areas, leadership and occupational health and safety.
What it is for
The short film opens the conversation, and this guide helps sustain it with care. The goal is not to solve anyone's pain or to offer ready-made answers. It is to create a place where people can be heard. The starting point is presence, and answers, if they come, come later.
Before you begin
Set aside about 60 minutes.
- Arrange the chairs in a circle, with soft lighting. Groups of up to 20 people.
- Define the internal facilitator and the company's support channel, to accompany anyone who needs more support after the circle.
- Keep at hand the channels in the section “If someone needs more help.”
- The person leading announces that the conversation is not therapy and does not replace professional care.
Circle agreements (read aloud)
- No one is required to speak. Passing is also a way of taking part.
- Each person speaks for themselves, without being interrupted, advised or judged.
- Silence is welcome.
- We do not compare one pain with another.
- What is shared here is not discussed outside the circle. Confidentiality.
- The circle is not a place for performance evaluation or for handling individual cases. Those have their own channels.
Layered questions
Start with the first and move forward only if the group is comfortable. Any question can be answered with “I'd rather not answer.”
- Which image, scene or line from the short film stayed with you?
- At what moment of your work week do you feel seen? And at what moment do you feel that no one notices?
- What tends to go unsaid among us, on the team?
- What would make our team a safe place to say “I'm not okay”?
- For leaders — Who takes care of those who lead here?
How to lead
Do
- Reflect back what you heard in simple words, such as “That sounds like it weighs heavily” or “Thank you for trusting the group with this.”
- Accept silence without filling it.
- Thank each person for speaking, without evaluating.
- If someone cries, wait. There is nothing to fix.
Avoid
- Giving advice, diagnoses or quick solutions.
- Saying “It comes with the job,” “Everyone goes through this” or “It could be worse.” These phrases can silence and wound.
- Asking someone to share more than they chose to.
- Demanding names, departments or examples that identify people or managers.
- Promising that everything will be fine.
If someone needs more help
The circle welcomes, but it has limits. Seek professional help when the person:
- cannot carry out daily activities;
- seems to have lost touch with reality;
- talks about hurting themselves, taking their own life or hurting someone else;
- depends significantly on alcohol or other substances.
Support channels
- The company's listening or reporting channel, for work-related situations.
- The company's or health plan's network of psychologists, for ongoing care.
- The nearest public or community mental health service, for regular follow-up.
- In the United States, call or text 988 (988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline), free and available 24 hours a day.
- If you are outside Brazil, contact your local crisis service or find your country's helpline at befrienders.org.
- Your local emergency number (911 in the United States) or an emergency room, if there is immediate risk. In that case, do not leave the person alone.
- In Brazil: CVV (188, cvv.org.br) and SAMU (192).
What to do
- Talk in private, calmly and without making a scene. Ask, and listen.
- After the referral, stay close with a conversation or a visit. Care does not end with the referral.
Help Line Global
Find a helpline in your country
Caring for those who lead
The screening can be held only with leaders, managers and HR teams. Those who lead others also carry weariness and do not need to hide it. In that case, use question 5, set aside more time for the circle and agree on a next meeting.
Closing
- Thank everyone for their trust.
- Remind them that the conversation can continue in private with anyone who wishes.
- If it makes sense for the team, end with a moment of silence or a brief, optional pause, without requiring everyone to take part.
- Repeat the support channels.
This action does not replace a workplace risk assessment, occupational health and safety services, an employee assistance program or psychological care, and it does not promise compliance with any legal requirement. It is an action for awareness, for promoting listening and for strengthening belonging at work. It is not therapy.
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