exercise · all tools
Translator
Two people converse and each has a translator who says, after every line, what is really behind it: 'What I notice about you is that your shirt is tight' becomes 'You're hot and I want to hit on you, but not be too direct about it.' Speakers answer each other or the translation, whichever is more alive, and may pause only if truly uncomfortable. Based on Key and Peele's Anger Translator; the manual plays it at nearly every advanced retreat, often with sixteen or more, until the group is deeply bonded 'or highly triggered' — and then moves into circling.
- Someone else voices your subtext to the room, and the manual's own example is sexual; the speaker's right to pause 'unless truly uncomfortable' — the manual's phrase — should be made easier to use than the design makes it
- The manual expects it to end with the group either bonded or highly triggered and says both are valuable to work through — which presumes a facilitator who can, and a circling practice to move into
Practical
- Time
- 10-15 min
- Group
- 4–∞ · small-group, large-group
- Settings
- in-person, online
- Mechanisms
- perspective-taking, feedback-mirroring, creative-expression, dialogic-encounter
- Change scope
- state → skill · repeatable
Instructions
- Where
- authrev.org/ar-games-manual — Authentic Relating Games Manual, paid
- Availability
- In the source document — the instructions live inside the material linked, on its terms
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0 (Authentic Relating Games Manual)
Source link checked 31 Aug 2026 — unchanged since we recorded it on 29 Aug 2026
This directory describes and points home; the instructions stay with the people who made them.
Origin
Annabeth Novitski (Austin Love Juggernaut), with variations by many later players; based on the 'Obama's Anger Translator' sketch by Key and Peele — Authentic Relating (Authentic Relating Games Manual, 2025 edition)
In this directory via Authentic Relating Games Manual
Related: Circling (prepares-for)
status: checked · added 2026-08-31