Sitting with knees 9 inches apart
Today at ALiA West: Peter Block brought us the gift of small group conversations as a the key to creating community. While the ideas were not particularly new to me there was a kind of freshness in Peter's talk (and spontaneous hosting) that I really appreciated. There was an attention to the minutia, to the details of creating physical space in order to create social space, combined with a clarity about the big picture, about the purpose of convening such conversations. Perhaps the dry humour also helped.
Here are some snippets of Peter's "small group rules":
- Get people to sit with those they know least to foster a sense of hospitality.
- Don't count off or assign people to groups: let the element of choice play out.
- Tell people specifically that they are NOT to be helpful or give advice. They are only to be curious.
- Arrange the space so that people are sitting with their knees less than 9 inches from each other.
- Don't use tables.
- Ask good questions, particularly ones that make us a little nervous.
- Don't hire good professional facilitators for small group meetings, because if the small group decides to meet again and the good facilitator isn't there they won't know what to do.
- Don't get people to report back: just ask them for anything that struck them about the conversations they had.
- Know that when 5 people talk about what struck them, about 90% of what has been going on in the room is captured. So don't worry about getting every single point.
- Ask people to stand up and say their name when they speak to the large group, because it is in the act of taking a stance that accountability is produces.
Here are some snippets of Peter's "small group rules":
- Get people to sit with those they know least to foster a sense of hospitality.
- Don't count off or assign people to groups: let the element of choice play out.
- Tell people specifically that they are NOT to be helpful or give advice. They are only to be curious.
- Arrange the space so that people are sitting with their knees less than 9 inches from each other.
- Don't use tables.
- Ask good questions, particularly ones that make us a little nervous.
- Don't hire good professional facilitators for small group meetings, because if the small group decides to meet again and the good facilitator isn't there they won't know what to do.
- Don't get people to report back: just ask them for anything that struck them about the conversations they had.
- Know that when 5 people talk about what struck them, about 90% of what has been going on in the room is captured. So don't worry about getting every single point.
- Ask people to stand up and say their name when they speak to the large group, because it is in the act of taking a stance that accountability is produces.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Katharine Weinmann on -
Hi Aftab,
Thanks for sharing the "sweet simplicity" of Peter's small group rules. Again, reminding me that less is more, and that going simple can reap deep potency. I'd hoped to have attended this inaugural west coast event, and am grateful for the seeing photos of people I know and the postings, especially as I was missing Peter's session. Best wishes to all for a rich and memorable learning experience.
Katharine
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Permalink Reply by Chris Grant on
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Wow!!!
Thanks, Aftab
This is deep, deep wisdom .. brilliant ..
:-) Chris
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Permalink Reply by Doug Oloughlin on -
Thanks for the summary Aftab...much appreciated. Trust all is well with you!
I agree that although there is nothing "new" there was a sense of freshness and depth to Peter's style. He is able to create a sacrd sharing space everywhere he goes while maintaining a bit of a cynnical edge....maybe that is another potential ingredient of building community and holding space. what do you think? namaste, doug
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