Davids cry for help

[Ingrid Olausson]

I have opened severel Open Spaces that were not fully voluntary. If they want everyone in the organization to participate I ask them not to stress that. If people don´t want to - don´t persuade them. Accept their reasons, whatever they are, for staying away. This works fine.
I usually don´t use breakout rooms, they are often too classroomlike. I like locations with café, halls, lounges or other spaces where a lot of small groups can sit. I ask the participantes not to form too large groups (and if the place is open it is easy to see that the spaces are too small for big groups). If there are many spaces they can easily divide groups into two. Or merge two small spaces to give space for a larger group.
Good luck with your Open Space!
Ingrid