The Sound of Silence online experiment

This is an experiment inspired by the Sound of Silence podcast*.   It is a silent online gathering to explore the importance of silence, of bearing witness and of not knowing in a time where we may experience a lack of meaningful human connection.  Other than that who knows what will happen.

There is a light structuring of the experience as follows. (all timings BST)

14:00     Silent arrival.  People arrive into the virtual space.
14:05     Paired silence #1.  Attendees will be put into random pairs or threes for two minutes of silence together.
               Paired silence #2.  Attendees will be put into another random pair or three for two minutes of silence together.
               Paired silence #3.  Attendees will be put into a final random pair or three for two minutes of silence together.
               Group silence.  All attendees will spend two minutes of silence together.
14:15     Experiment ends

You will be sent the Zoom meeting link, password and joining instructions when you sign up. If you have not seen these then please check your spam folder

Some important notes
- Everyone attending is requested to be unmuted but silent throughout. (unmuted so we can hear your silence)
- It is preferable that you have your camera activated so that participants can see each other.
- All instructions will be communicated by hand written signs.  The host will not speak either.
- Your pairing for the silences will be randomly assigned with somebody else taking part in the experiment.  This is a global experiment and, depending on how many take part, you are likely to be paired with somebody you do not know.
- There is intentionally no time for reflection or sense making of this experience at the end.  This is to facilitate a deeper experience of not knowing and allow the experience to unfold and marinate for a little longer.
- For those who want to reflect and make sense of it together, a separate virtual meeting will take place at 2pm BST on Thursday 16th April.
- The experimental nature of this short experience means that I have no idea how you will respond in the moment to taking part.  Silence can be a very powerful experience so please only take part if you are feeling resourced enough to do so at the time.
- The experience will work better for you if you are able to install the desktop zoom client.  You can download it here: https://zoom.us/
- If you are unable to download the client you will still be able to take part but may not have the same functionality as others                

Any other questions - drop me an e-mail at sc@CanScorpionsSmoke.com

Steve

Sound of Silence is the world's first silent podcast featuring special guests.  Only 100 episodes are being recorded and the collected silence will then be turned into an exhibition of silence.  You can listen to the podcast episodes broadcast so far at www.soundofsilence.org.uk or via podcast players.