Open Space Closure

[owen]

At 12:03 PM 3/14/99 +0800, you wrote:
>This is a query re what variations are people using to facilitate the
>closing of OS events.
>
>I am thinking specifically about a group of 200   - 250 participants who
>will have been working together for 2 and a bit days in open space. I have a
>two hour period to assist the group to bring the event to a close. I am
>toying with the idea of the group breaking up into  groups of 10 (self
>selected) for 20 mins etc to discuss their experience of open Space and to
>bring the primary learning/ experience back to the main group (in a 4 minute
>wrap-up).( I do not intend to use the closing to deal with facts so much as
>treating it as an opportunity for self-expression re the experience and
>process of OS) .There would then be 20 minutes for other comments,
>expressions etc.
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I did something like what you are proposing, and the only comment I got back
was that people would have prefered to be all together. Apparently the felt
level of community was such that they just didn't want to break up into small
groups at the end. I guess that is a nice problem to have.
        Anyhow -- since then, even with much larger groups, I have followed a
procedure which is pretty well outlined in the 2nd edition of "The User's
Guide." I begin with what you might call a guided reflection on the experieince
in Open Space -- following the Medicine Wheel as a guide. And then throw it
open to anybody who wished to comment on what the experieince may have meant
for them personally -- making it very clear that this is NOT about the
substance of the discussions which are contained in The Book..
        I don't use a talking stick -- unless you consider the mike a talking
stick, which of course it is. But rather move myself from person to person.
This saves a little time, but also puts me in a proximate position to gently
suggest to the long-winded that it may be time to move on. I also make it clear
at the beginning that we have one hour (and I find anything longer than that
gets a little long). When we hit the hour -- I invite everybody to stand, let
their eyes go around the circle and acknowledge each other -- and then get
ready for Monday morning. And it is time to go. Seems to work and it is simple
and elegant.

Harrison

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, MD 20854   USA
301-469-9269 (phone)
301-983-9314 (fax)
email owen at tmn.com
Website http://www.tmn.com/~owen
Open Space Institute website
http://www.tmn.com/openspace
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