Asking people in prison: ‘What legacy do you want to leave?’
Getting participants to present in the classroom develops essential communication skills. In this blog, Phia – coach at HMP Wormwood Scrubs – explores the additional benefits, and what happens when we ask people how they want to be remembered.
In prison, people are often defined by their past. In the StandOut classroom, we ask a different question: ‘What legacy do you want to leave?’ It’s a moment that invites hope, aspiration, worry and reality into a space that doesn’t always allow room for them - an opportunity to imagine a future beyond the labels of the past.
A key moment in the course is the first time we ask participants to stand up in front of their peers to talk about themselves - and to answer that question out loud. We ask things like:
What are your hopes for when you are released?
What are your hopes for 10/20 years’ time?
What do you want to be remembered for?
What do you want your family and friends, children, and grandchildren to say about you when you’re gone? How would you like them to describe you?
These ‘legacy presentations' are often the first time participants speak openly about their dreams and fears. For a lot of us, standing up to speak in front of our peers is a nerve-wracking prospect - and this is no different in the prison environment. There’s a nervous tension in the room at the start, but by the end of the day the sense of accomplishment is palpable, and the honesty of the presentations has sparked conversations and nurtured early friendships. One participant told me:
“Oh, I went in terrified and sceptical, but it was fantastic to have the space. It felt like we weren’t in prison for a few hours. It helped my confidence to grow so much and by the end I did a presentation at graduation with no notes! I would have never done that before.”
Moments of honesty like this bond the group through shared experience and create a sense of trust in the room – vital for a course that rests on stepping outside your comfort zone.
The magic of these presentations was most visible in the moment a participant who had spent a lifetime in prison reflected on his contact with the justice system. He spoke with a level of candour that was inspiring for participants and coaches alike. From the moment he started speaking, he had everyone in the room on the edge of their seats; it was magnetic. He was met with the respect and curiosity of his peers which, for me, encapsulated an underlying but critical aspect of why we do these presentations: connection.
Alongside this depth, developing participants’ communication skills is integral to the StandOut course. We do this by, among other things, supporting them to deliver presentations like this one. Opportunities to present are woven throughout each of the three weeks, progressing in length, complexity and audience size. As well as improving communication skills generally, it fulfils a course-long ambition to increase participants’ confidence to present in front of a group, a skill which is highly valued and increasingly necessary within the workforce.
Ultimately, legacy presentations remind us why this work matters. Not only do they build that vital confidence, but they also lay the foundations for trust, connection and a renewed sense of possibility, both in the classroom and far beyond. It captures what the StandOut course strives for: courage, community, connection and the chance for participants to be seen as who they are becoming, not just who they have been.
StandOut exists to help people in prison imagine a different future – and build the confidence to pursue it. Click below to support our work.