Once, in a complex multi-party environmental negotiation, a person stayed quiet for much of the debate. Representing a crucial group with much power over some attributes of the situation, his silence was understood as intransigence by some. After days of hearing little from the Silent One, a member of the group asked -- in a generous fashion -- what he was thinking. "I would love to help you move forward here -- it makes so much sense! But I feel staked to the ground! I can't move!" The first picture you see here was drawn on the flip chart as he spoke. "Yes, that's it exactly. I have little room to offer anything." Again, and with generosity, he was asked what was keeping him tied down. He began to explain what constrained him. One by one, the constraints were understood by the group, and accepted. In a couple of critical instances, the group was able to brainstorm with the Silent One and generate options and ideas for working within or even severing the binds so the group could indeed move ahead without  putting the Silent One -- or his job -- at risk. Click on the picture to see what was drawn on the flip chart once the Silent One was fully heard.