Soft skills and shared norms for facilitating suspensions.
Facilitating a suspension calls for skills that are softer than anything we can codify in a protocol: reading the room, communicating with care, and setting ego aside. This document is primarily guidance for practitioners, volunteers, and support roles during active suspensions; the guidance for observers applies to everyone present.
Suspensions are often intense emotional, physical, and psychological experiences, and conversations or actions that may seem minor can be amplified for the suspendee.
The suspendee is the core of the suspension experience. Their physical and emotional wellbeing takes priority over personal preferences and interpersonal conflicts. Suspendees are encouraged to communicate their needs, expectations, intentions, and boundaries before and during a suspension whenever possible, and the facilitators actively involved in the suspension should check in and adapt to the suspendee’s needs throughout the experience.
Suspensions usually begin with assigned roles, but practitioners often need to be flexible, switching between duties as needed.
If your role changes, you should feel free to move into another role.
If you are coaching the suspendee and they are not receptive to your process, step back and let someone else fill that role.
If someone makes a judgment call that changes your work (for example, adjusting or changing something you rigged), you should not feel undermined; step back and allow that decision to be made without conflict.
When you step back, make the handoff explicit (“you’ve got coaching?”) so no role is silently dropped.
The lead practitioner on a suspension is responsible for making final decisions. That said, there are moments when it is ambiguous who the lead practitioner actually is. Working without a strict hierarchy is one of our values, but there are moments when someone needs to step into that role. Experienced facilitators should always be ready to step into the lead role, or to step back and allow it to be filled by someone else, without a power struggle.
Generally, only one person should be interacting with the suspendee at a time. It can be very chaotic if somebody is telling the suspendee to drink some water while somebody else is telling them to breathe.
If you are not the coach in that moment, take a step back and let the coach do the coaching.
If you think your suggestion would be valuable, find a discreet way to let the coach know so they can decide what to do with that information.
This applies to everyone in the orbit of a suspension: practitioners, support roles, and observers alike.
Support roles (such as an emotional support person for the suspendee, or photographers) have a greater degree of access to the suspendee and their experience; be aware of your surroundings in these roles so you don’t unintentionally interfere with a practitioner’s ability to work safely. Be attentive and listen to the needs of those around you.
Unless something is an immediate safety issue, we communicate it discreetly without alerting the suspendee. Examples include:
A hook that was pierced a little shallowly
A hook hole opening slightly after the hook is loaded
We do not loudly explain that there is an issue; we discreetly notify one of the lead practitioners on that suspension so they can make a judgment call on whether a risk needs to be mitigated. Doing otherwise could worry the suspendee unnecessarily.
Discretion is about tone and timing, not withholding: if a risk materially affects the suspendee’s choices, such as whether to continue, the lead practitioner informs them calmly, and a suspendee’s direct questions should always be answered honestly. If something is an immediate safety issue, act and speak without delay.
We avoid language that can be concerning to the suspendee and lead them to worry about their suspension. For example, we do not ask, “Do you feel like you’re going to throw up?” or discuss our own negative experiences with that particular suspension.
Instead, we can offer them water or express optimism about their experience. Anything negative that is relevant can be discussed after the suspension is over.
While the lead practitioner on a suspension is responsible for resolving conflict during a suspension:
Practitioners are encouraged to resolve interpersonal issues between themselves first, if able.
If facilitators are unable to work together effectively or respectfully, roles should be reassigned, if possible, to support the suspendee’s experience.
Concerns involving safety should be escalated to practitioners with appropriate experience.
Disagreements around technique or preference that aren’t immediate safety concerns should be deferred until after the suspension.
Facilitators should never undermine each other in front of the suspendee, as this can deteriorate trust between the suspendee and facilitators. If a facilitator makes a mistake or ought to consider doing something differently, that can be addressed after the suspension is over and away from the suspendee, unless it is an immediate safety issue.
DSC events are something we do together, observers and first-timers included, and the presence of observers can often help suspendees feel supported. Facilitators frequently invite observers to help, such as taking photos or getting water for the suspendee, and that shared participation is part of our culture.
What we ask of observers isn’t distance, it’s awareness:
Follow the lead of the facilitators actively involved in the suspension, and be mindful of where you’re standing.
Route suggestions or concerns through those facilitators rather than directly to the suspendee during an active suspension; this is the same “one voice” principle practitioners themselves follow.
If you’re newer, err toward asking before stepping in.
At DSC events, the default is that clapping and cheering are generally discouraged. This helps maintain a calm environment, and it avoids making it seem like we are only celebrating the moment someone leaves the ground rather than their entire participation in the experience. Suspendees may have different expectations or desires on an individual basis.
Occasionally facilitators may request extra space or communicate other needs for a suspendee, such as for silence; please respect these requests.
All attendees should feel empowered to speak up if they see something that seems wrong. Where possible, concerns should be directed to one of the facilitators actively involved in the suspension in a way that doesn’t unnecessarily alarm the suspendee. If immediate intervention is necessary to protect someone’s safety, act without delay. As noted in the DSC Code of Conduct, do not hesitate to inform volunteers or DSC organizers if you have suggestions or notice any violations of these rules.