When a group discusses a problem, two habits reliably degrade the conversation: everyone believes they already know the answer and argues for it, and nobody says the thing they actually think for fear of causing offence. The result is that no one gets complete information and no one's real view gets heard. The Drama Triangle is a structured way to get all of it on the table at once — by having each person deliberately voice the three positions they are *already* occupying silently. ### **What I'm thinking about** 1. **Three roles, all of them "below the line"** – **Villain**: "I blame [a real person] for creating this situation by [a real action]." **Victim**: "This negatively affects me in the following way…" and "I am powerless to permanently solve this because…" **Hero**: "I temporarily solve this situation by…" 2. **You go round until you run out of people to blame** – Each round names a different person. And critically: you can, and should, blame yourself. The exercise is finished when there is nobody left. 3. **Saying it out loud is what dissolves it** – The claim is that stating these positions in the starkest available terms lets you release attachment to them. Frequently this step alone is enough to move the group to a workable conversation. 4. **The exit is a single question** – After the below-the-line round: *"Am I willing to now easefully and playfully discover a solution?"* If yes, the group moves to solutions. The willingness has to be explicit. 5. **Use a facilitator the first time** – This is not a low-risk exercise. "If anyone goes off-script and gets angry, the results can be very messy." ### **So what?** The value is in the completeness. Once the worst available information is on the table and nothing is being withheld, elegant solutions tend to appear quickly — because the group is finally solving the actual problem rather than the sanitised version of it. The move out of the triangle is [[100% Responsibility]], and the two are meant to be run together. Naming the drama without the escape route just produces a well-articulated grievance. Related: [[100% Responsibility]] [[Conscious Leadership]] [[Clean Escalation]] [[Making People Feel Heard]] [[Executive Operating System MOC]]