Hello, dear Glory -- I agree with Michael about 'outsider' participation in an Open Space. It is exactly the 'outsider' input that is like the bumblebee - it brings fresh perspective and it better represents the fuller system.
As far as the slide show, it depends to me whether or not the whole room had to become dark and focused on the slide show. If there was another room to do it in, people could choose (it as a session or go to another session during that time). If it was in the only/main room, then it is just like having a speech or presentation in plenary, which is something that puts people in passive/listening/receiving mode rather than interacting/participating mode. Without an option to go to another session, though people can go for a walk, for example, during that time. I try to work with sponsors to put all one-way communication of data, etcetera way before the Open Space (days before if possible) and if there is no other way, before I open the space (I don't personally like it when this happens the same day as the Open Space but sometimes I have to just embrace that situation because it's going to happen anyway -- personally I feel that one-way presentations suck up space, in OS or in any other setting). Again, because I wasn't there, this may all have happened that way in your Open Space, too and still what you mentioned in your story happened. I'd be interested to find out. And hey, maybe what happened should have happened exactly that way as a catalyst for some participants to either move to that person's point of view or finally get tired enough of him/her to be moved to another kind of action you have yet to see... Take care, dear Glory, and thanks for sharing so generously, Lisa L i s a H e f t Consultant, facilitator, educator O p e n i n g S p a c e 2325 Oregon Berkeley, California 94705-1106 USA (+01) 510 548-8449 [email protected] www.openspaceworld.com * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
