Leslie – Open Space for me is the invitation to all (who care) to be who they are, and to show up in the ways they are – all of them. A little opaque I guess, but you would agree, I am sure, that when humans meet humans, communication is infinitely more than a matter of words. There is motion, smell, music, dance... to name a few. And all are powerful in their own way, and have a place in our daily commerce. Furthermore, eliminating any of these modalities from the interchange of one person to another leads to a most impoverished situation. Which, I suppose, is why most meetings are deadly dull. Just think of the scandal were one to sing a song or do a dance at a Board Meeting! All that said, I do have a caution when it comes to your passion:
“It just occurred to me that I can use infuse the closing circle with the power of intentional, collective movement, improv and self-organization! That is, after all, what I’m passionately pursuing in my career, so why not apply it to Open Space, too?” The caution relates to the idea of “infusing” – My experience has been that Closing Circles seem to naturally evoke song, poetry, dance – not always and not everywhere, but with a little nudge at the start – it just flows. No program or design needed. So when I start the Talking stick I simply say, “Now is to time to reflect on our experience. The time and the space is yours when you hold the stick. You may pass it in silence, sing a song, do a dance...whatever.” And I pass the stick. Seems to work every time in a way that is appropriate to that group. It can get pretty wild, or be quite sedate. People’s choice. Harrison From: OSList [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Leslie Zucker via OSList Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2015 3:42 PM To: Jeff Aitken; Alan Stewart Cc: World wide Open Space Technology email list Subject: Re: [OSList] Leslie's questions Alan and Jeff, Thanks so much for your encouragement and good ideas. The closing circle was 30 minutes, when each of the three topic sessions was 45 minutes. It was a little rushed, although we ended on time. Since I had a clear (self-imposed) mandate to end on time, that could have been what made me nervous when the closing comments turned into promotional plugs and long speeches unrelated to the theme topic of the night. Good news, however, I just got the lesson from this experience. YEAH!! Lightbulb moment! [insert little celebration dance.] It just occurred to me that I can use infuse the closing circle with the power of intentional, collective movement, improv and self-organization! That is, after all, what I’m passionately pursuing in my career, so why not apply it to Open Space, too? Next time I open space, I will try this. I just wrote down the whole design of the lightbulb moment idea for myself to try next time. I won’t spell it out here (to save some cyberspace), but if this interests anyone, I’d be happy to share the idea for how this could be done. It’s absolutely thanks to this list and the people who responded that I had this little burst of creativity and inspiration, so THANK YOU!! All the best, Leslie P.S. My new favorite phrase / tagline / motto is “Sitting is the new smoking!”. Clever right? Wish I had thought of it myself. Leslie Zucker Trainer, Facilitator and Life Coach for Life's Dancers +1 (202) 425 7637 [email protected] www.lesliezucker.com On Jan 29, 2015, at 8:26 PM, Jeff Aitken <[email protected]> wrote: Also appreciating the other question! (when people don't do as they are asked during the closing circle.) Useful to reflect on design choices and your work in the moment. Seems there was a strongly felt need to share the information they were sharing. It was wise to let it go. Letting it go is the fine art of open space. But you couldn't know this until they actually started doing it, right? How could you have learned this need in preparing for the event. And was there another way that need could have been met? Perhaps to say at the start of the circle that a round of announcements would follow the reflections? Was there a rushed feeling at the end, or was it spacious. Would you have allocated more time for the closing, in hindsight? Admiring your courage and skill around hosting this group. Jeff On 1/29/15, Jeff Aitken < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: Curious about the question on the numbers who return for the closing circle. Depends on context and the need for a consensus or shared understanding around what is next, I suppose. Without a need for folks to return, I tend not to worry about it. My favorite story was OS as the second day of a four day annual network conference. (Big mistake - not the final day.) Morning dawned with several inches of fresh powder snow visible from the ballroom picture window. I made a joke about the law of two skis. 380 people started and 125 returned that evening. But of them, 90% were very satisfied with the day. Something told me that the butterflies on the lifts also had the conversations they needed. Jeff -------- Original message -------- From: Alan Stewart via OSList <[email protected]> Date:01/29/2015 4:43 PM (GMT-08:00) To: Leslie Zucker <[email protected]>,World wide Open Space Technology email list <[email protected]>,Catherine Pfaehler <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [OSList] Leslie's questions Dear Catherine, Leslie and All These are the most insightful and practical ideas on how all participants in a short duration OST gathering can obtain the most value from the experience. I congratulate and salute you. Go well Alan Alan Stewart, PhD Social Artist Facilitator of conversations that matter and participatory fun Based in Adelaide and operating throughout Austral-Asia Em: [email protected] Web: www.multimindsolutions.com Mob: +61413848680 Blog: Conversare Tw: @alpalstewart "If there's dancing count me in" On 30 January 2015 at 09:43, Leslie Zucker via OSList <[email protected]> wrote: Catherine, Thanks so very much for your thoughtful response, I really appreciate your time. I still find it amazing, after all these years how caring and helpful people on this list are. Your wording for the book of proceedings is great. Go right ahead. I did end up including a lot of context about the event in the Book of Proceedings which I just sent out last night to both the people who came and who registered but did not show up. I am also scheduling “debrief” meetings with people who said they are vested in the outcomes (funders) but didn’t show up to the event itself. Any words of wisdom about talking about the value of the event to funders who didn’t come? My guess is that they will want to know what are the top three action items from the event? The truth is there aren’t any action items, per se, but there was value - community building as the strongest one, for sure. I provide a form for note-taking (see annex), in which I include „the most important outcomes in three sentences“ for the closing circle, especially for Open Space Events that are as short as yours or no longer than a day. I agree with you that it’s helpful to use a template for the note taking. I did provide one at my event but it didn’t ask for the most important outcomes in three sentences for the closing circle. Nonetheless, only half the groups turned in any notes. I will try it the way you suggest next time! However, it is of utmost importance to ask for „the 3 sentences only“ when you open the closing circle, as coming back to listening mode after all those vivid discussions is difficult and often creates a sudden drop of energy. I couldn’t agree with you more about this! I definitely felt the sudden drop of energy in the closing circle and found it (frankly) quite difficult to sit through. Although I had suggested concise comments or 1-2 minutes maximum/ per person and focused on any one of the three questions that I prepped them for (meaning in the opening circle, I told them we’d discuss those three questions in the closing circle). The questions were these: 1) What did you learn or contribute? 2) What surprised you? and 3) What did you like about this process? That suggestion was clearly not what people wanted to do. Instead, they introduced themselves, what their organization does and offers, performances that are coming up, etc. Even as the facilitator, I felt trapped and unable to exercise the Law of Two Feet. On two occasions, I tried to guide the comments back to the three questions, but that only worked with a few people, not the majority. Finally, I just let it be what it was going to be. Unfortunately, however, it did mean that the ending was anti-climactic, when I really believe that a strong feeling of unity, connection and gratitude is a more powerful way to end an Open Space. I wonder what I could have done differently? Suggestions, questions, ideas are welcome! Touching on another question - how do you or others successfully fill the closing circle with just as many people as the opening circle? Suggestions are also welcome for this. Many, many, many thanks in advance! Leslie Zucker Trainer, Facilitator and Life Coach for Life's Dancers +1 (202) 425 7637 [email protected] www.lesliezucker.com On Jan 28, 2015, at 3:56 PM, Catherine Pfaehler <[email protected]> wrote: Dear Leslie Your wording for the book of proceedings is great. Go right ahead. I provide a form for note-taking (see annex), in which I include „the most important outcomes in three sentences“ for the closing circle, especially for Open Space Events that are as short as yours or no longer than a day. In such short events, the sponsor often decides not to copy the book of proceedings for everybody, so I merely produce a small documentation, i.e. a list with all the topics, the conveners, and these three sentences, plus the OS principles and the list with all the participants for everyone to take home. When I finish my introduction, I say „We meet again for the closing circle at … o’clock – this will be harvest time and for many the most beautiful and richest moments of the day. Every group will report back their most important outcomes and we will share our most important experiences - don’t miss it! And now, the day (or evening) is yours, enjoy it!“ The first part of this closing circle then are the reports, and this is the time when they find the small documentation on their seats. The above announcement often helps for people to stay longer. However, it is of utmost importance to ask for „the 3 sentences only“ when you open the closing circle, as coming back to listening mode after all those vivid discussions is difficult and often creates a sudden drop of energy. This report back to the plenary contributes to the feeling of ownership of the results with the participants, especially without a book of proceedings. Usually in the second part of the closing circle, when the talking stick goes around and people reflect on their experience in Open Space, very profound insights and most touching experiences are shared. For me, the Open Space event is never over before the closing circle has finished. Be prepared to be surprised… Have fun! Best, Catherine Catherine Pfaehler Open Space Begleitung Burckhardtstrasse 2 CH - 3008 Bern Switzerland +41-(0)31-536 05 31 www.open-space-begleitung.ch <Notes taker form.doc><Notes taker form, page 2.doc> _______________________________________________ OSList mailing list To post send emails to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
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