Dear Raffi,
I dont really care what participants offer, post or whether they
prepared themselves or not, my role and task as facilitator is to step
back and widen the space for selforganisation.
However, I usually do say something in my introduction on what all is
possible, it goes something like this:
"You have the chance to offer whatever you want. Perhaps you want to ask
folks to work with you on a difficult question that you havent found a
solution for yet. Or perhaps you have a talk that you carefully designed
and never had a chance to present so far, here you might find an
audience. Or you developed a concept in your area of work which you find
is lacking something and want to reflect on with others. Or you designed
a method you never applied yet but want to try out with a group.
Whatever it is you ... chances are good you find a bunch of
collaborators for your issue... whatever it is, step into the circle,
write it on a piece of paper, step up to the microphone, say your name,
announce it to the group and post your issue at the bulletin board."
This takes about 40 seconds and always has been enough for people to go
for it.
When a sponsor wants "experts" to present stuff, I strongly suggest that
he invites the experts to participate and to offer their "stuff" the
same way others offer their issues. This has always been accepted. I
remember two occasions where the sponosor came over to me wanting me to
encourage the experts to offer their "stuff" since they just seemed to
sit in the circle and do nothing. Later, it turned out that the
"experts" were so turned on by the issues "non" experts offered that
they rather went to their sessions. (I assume they still went there as
"experts" and offered their "expertise" but I also heard them say in
closing circles that they never learned so much in the exchange with
"non" experts).
If sponsors insist on "blended" events or on having "inputs" up front, I
encourage them to supply everybody coming to the event with the inputs
in writing a couple of weeks before the event... as this kind of
discussion developes sponsors mostly begin to get a feeling of the
nature of an OST event and skip this stuff. Occasionally, a session in
the evening of the day before the event is offered with inputs... that
has also worked well.
If you have a "full" OST event (with 6 or 7 sessions spread over two
days and an additional half day for action planning) the kind of design
I suggested above works much better than if you have fewer sessions or
shorter events with less "time" to experiment and to try out different
things.
To your last question: I just am convinced that everybody that follows
the invitation to an OST event is fully engaged and that engagement
manifests itself by jumping in with both their feet or to do nothing of
that kind... I couldnt care less.
Have a great day in San Diego
mmp
Raffi Aftandelian wrote:
Queridos amigos del espacio abierto,
A friend of mine who took place in an OST event I organized and facilitated
recently (a daylong Compassionate Communication practice event) expressed
dissatisfaction about the following:
It seemed that most everyone who had convened a session already had a plan
for how it would go and there didn't seem to be much space to deviate from
this plan. From what I understand, she didn't really speak up for what she
wanted either- nor did she convene her own session(s).
Indeed, I knew that some people were going to convene particular sessions
and I did not intervene or say anything to these people beforehand.
I am curious, if you know that people are going to convene a particular
session beforehand, do you say anything to these conveners, given the
chance? Do you say anything during the formal opening of the space to
address this?
I wonder if there is no such thing as a perfect opening that addresses all
eventualities and that no doubt there will always be a few people who didn't
feel engaged/inspired enough by the opening to jump into the day with two feet?
Thanks!
abrazos,
Raphael
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Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49-30-772 8000
mmpa...@boscop.org
www.boscop.org
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