{"id":8333,"date":"2017-02-27T17:44:23","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T00:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/?post_type=resource&#038;p=8333"},"modified":"2025-01-14T12:50:48","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T19:50:48","slug":"building-relationships-small-group","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/resource\/building-relationships-small-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Relationships in a Small Group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-building-trust\">Building Trust<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Trust develops as people get to know each other. When people come to a new group, they inwardly ask themselves if they will fit in and find relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Storytelling questions are a way to help people develop trust. They make people feel welcome by inviting them to say, \u201cThis is who I am.\u201d The hearers, in turn, say to themselves, \u201cNow that I know who you are, I see that we are both human, with commonalities and areas of uniqueness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-sharing-stories\">Sharing Stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you get small group participants to share their stories? <strong>Ask storytelling questions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Who was God to you when you were a child?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>What has been one of the best compliments you have received as an adult?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>What does Easter mean to you personally?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These are storytelling questions\u2014ones that ask people to tell the stories of their past, their present, and their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-principles-of-storytelling-questions\">Principles of Storytelling Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Use one-sentence questions that give people permission to be personal and talk about themselves while deciding how much to disclose. One sentence is enough for simplicity. Talking about oneself means telling a piece of one\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are six principles of good storytelling questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A good storytelling question should invite at least one sentence in response.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Storytelling questions follow a progression from less vulnerable to more vulnerable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The safest stories for most people to tell are about the past.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It\u2019s important to design storytelling questions that everyone in the group can answer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A question that asks for positive information is almost always safer than one that invites negative information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make sure that your storytelling question is relevant to the task or theme of the group.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<br>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group cta ticss-63dda377 has-cool-gray-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-share-this-discipleship-tool\"><strong><strong>Share this Discipleship Tool<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Download a print-friendly PDF to pass along! Navigator Discipleship Tools are designed for sharing with your Bible study, church group, and those you are discipling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignwide is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-499968f5 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Storytelling-Tool-Template-BW.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DOWNLOAD NOW<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<br>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Adapted from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/p\/how-to-ask-great-questions\/9781641581325\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\"><em>How to Ask Great Questions: Guide Discussion, Build Relationships, Deepen Faith<\/em><\/a> by Karen Lee-Thorp. Used with permission of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/\">NavPress<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\r\n\t\t\t<div id=\"daexthefup-container\"\r\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"daexthefup-container daexthefup-layout-stacked daexthefup-alignment-center\"\r\n\t\t\t\tdata-post-id=\"8333\">\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefup-feedback\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefup-text\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"daexthefup-title\">Was this helpful?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefup-buttons-container\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefup-buttons\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefup-yes daexthefup-button daexthefup-button-type-icon-and-text\" data-value=\"1\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefup-button-icon\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n                <svg>\r\n                    <defs>\r\n                        <style>.thumb-up-cls-1{fill:#c9c9c9;}.thumb-up-cls-2{fill:#e1e1e1;}.thumb-up-cls-3{fill:#676767;}<\/style>\r\n                    <\/defs>\r\n               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<\/g>\r\n                <\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefup-button-text\">Yes<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefup-no daexthefup-button daexthefup-button-type-icon-and-text\" data-value=\"0\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefup-button-icon\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n                <svg>\r\n                    <defs>\r\n                        <style>.thumb-down-cls-1{fill:#c9c9c9;}.thumb-down-cls-2{fill:#e1e1e1;}.thumb-down-cls-3{fill:#676767;}<\/style>\r\n                    <\/defs>\r\n                    <g id=\"thumb_down\">\r\n                        <path class=\"thumb-down-cls-2 daexthefup-icon-circle\" d=\"m24,3c11.58,0,21,9.42,21,21s-9.42,21-21,21S3,35.58,3,24,12.42,3,24,3m0-1C11.85,2,2,11.85,2,24s9.85,22,22,22,22-9.85,22-22S36.15,2,24,2h0Z\" \/>\r\n                        <g>\r\n                            <rect class=\"thumb-down-cls-3 daexthefup-icon-secondary-color\" x=\"10\" y=\"13\" width=\"6\" 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