{"id":9229,"date":"2020-02-20T15:42:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T14:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/?p=9229"},"modified":"2026-03-04T12:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T12:58:14","slug":"when-is-a-talking-mat-not-a-talking-mat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/when-is-a-talking-mat-not-a-talking-mat\/","title":{"rendered":"When is a Talking Mat not a Talking Mat?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s always great to see pictures of Talking Mats on social media.\u00a0 The stories behind them, and the positive changes that can result\u00a0for people keeps us motivated to share this powerful tool.<\/p>\n<p>It is apparent however that not all pictures that are called Talking Mats are actually Talking Mats!\u00a0 For example,<\/p>\n<p><strong>TOP SCALES<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0If the\u00a0 top scale is Yes \/ No Or\u00a0 a tick \/cross<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/image-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9231\" src=\"https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/image-1.jpg\" alt=\"image 1\" width=\"289\" height=\"146\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It is apparent from these mats that the questions are likely to be closed, and don\u2019t provide a scale for reflection.\u00a0 Closed questions can be leading and suggestive of a set answer the listener is seeking. e.g\u00a0<em> &#8216;Did you\u00a0enjoy your lunch?&#8217;\u00a0<\/em> v.<em> &#8216;How was your lunch?&#8217;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>A <em>yes\/no<\/em>, or a <em>tick and cross<\/em>\u00a0at the top\u00a0 are occasionally used with topics which appear to test understanding of rules, e.g acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in a classroom.\u00a0 \u00a0In that instance the listener facilitating the mat keeps the control and the power imbalance that exists in conversations for people with communication difficulties isn\u2019t reduced.<\/p>\n<p>The top scale used with\u00a0each\u00a0 topic is key to the mat working.\u00a0 A Talking Mat could find out what the person thinks about the rules, and which ones they feel are <em>good -not good<\/em> or <em>help -not help.<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0Our Foundation training includes how to match the top scale to the conversation.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/training\/\">https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/training\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>TEACHING TALKING MATS<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0Some people with communication difficulties\u00a0need\u00a0to learn how to do Talking Mats.\u00a0 Learning how to express a view can take time and has to be taught.\u00a0 We\u00a0 see pictures of what appear to be <strong>Teaching Mats.<\/strong> For example, starting with closed questions might be necessary to introduce the idea of preferences.<\/p>\n<p>It is important that these Teaching Mats are not used as a true representation of a person\u2019s view but seen as a step towards this skill- It can take time but great learning takes place along the way.<\/p>\n<p>We have guidelines for working towards Talking Mats on our website:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/15.-Working-Towards-Talking-Mats-Guidelines-1-Checking-Building-Capacity.pdf\" style=\"color:#3f2d61;background-color:#52d6bf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Part 1: Checking \/ building capacity<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Working-Towards-Talking-Mats-Guidelines-Part-2-Things-to-Consider.pdf\" style=\"color:#584974;background-color:#52d6bf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Part 2: Things to consider<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These guidelines are designed to support Talking Mats trained practitioners working with thinkers who may need to take extra steps to work towards using the Talking Mats framework<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporting people to share what they think, and giving them the control to say when they are not happy with an aspect of their life, is within their legal rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2018To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity\u2019&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nelson Mandela<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s always great to see pictures of Talking Mats on social media.\u00a0 The stories behind them, and the positive changes&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":6304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,62,54,17,21],"tags":[13,18,20,63],"class_list":["post-9229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-capacity","category-talking-mats-principles","category-participation","category-training","tag-talking-mats","tag-participation","tag-training","tag-capacity-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>When is a Talking Mat not a Talking Mat? - Improving Communication, Improving Lives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Talking Mat is not a Talking Mat unless all the core principles are evident, e.g clear top scale and handing over control\" \/>\n<meta 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