Acquantence & Reports for 2 days OS in Siberia

[Elena A. Marchuk]

Re: Acquantence & Reports for 2 days OS in SiberiaHi Chris,

nice to hear from a person from NC. I stayed in Raleigh, NC, for half a year
in 1992 from February to August and worked in the business inqubator (sorry
for spelling) in the First Flight Center on 2 Davis Drive in Research
Triangle Park. Is it too hot now?

Thank you for your ideas, I nearly come to the same statement - not
providing an acquatence part - idea too. not yet decided with the reporting,
especially on the first day, I still think the people need to hear each
other and think if just closing circle will be enough for them to understand
what they are doing. I'm not rely much on written reports...though I also
think it will not be the good possibility for printing them out quickly - so
there will be flipchart presentation first.

Best wishes to you
Elena Marchuk
Novosibirsk, Russia
  -----Original Message-----
  From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Rhett
Hudson/Chris Weaver
  Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2000 4:55 PM
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Subject: Re: Acquantence & Reports for 2 days OS in Siberia


  Dear Elena,

  Your questions are important and similar to ones I have pondered myself
this very week.



    It looks like that my proposal to provide a workshop for meeting of
business people and local government people, who visited US for their
professional exchange, with the idea to discuss

    How do they use their experience? and What they can do more together?

    It sounds like these two questions are your theme.  It seems like a good
theme.

    in a form of OS was heard and it will be held in a week, so there is no
possibility to predict what will be discussed and the name is just used as
Open World (so I think we need to say more about some possible goals at the
beginning?)

    "No possibility to predict..." is good.  When I open the space, I do
elaborate about the theme and its importance.  But  I am very careful not to
suggest specific outcomes; I invite individual, private attention on what
the people in the circle care about most related to the theme.

    and for more dinamic, and experience (people are not used to such a form
at all), I want to make presentations at the end of the first day with more
proposals for discussions on the second day.

    Until this week, I had never used presentations or group reports in Open
Space.  It is not a part of the process.  But this week, in a group of
sixteen, my friend Peter Donaldson facilitated a "working lunch."  Our four
sessions of Open Space were complete.  It was noon on our second day and we
were about to move to convergence and action planning.   We arranged the
eating tables in a big hexagon.  The convenor or reporter from each group
stood with their flip-chart and made a report.  The group asked a few
clarifying questions, and toasted and applauded each reporter.  It was
lovely.  We only had ten or eleven reports.

    I know it is very important not to break the flow of Open Space.
Perhaps others will comment on this related to your idea of making
presentations at the end of the first day.  Can someone share how you do
"evening news" and how it is different from reporting?

    The time-tested practice for closing is to hold a talking circle.
People don't report; they share whatever is on their mind, often a highlight
from the experience.  The written proceedings provide the report.

    As I think people need to hear each other!

    Yes!  Our group this week, like yours, did not have experience in
interactive processes.  They kept looking to a designated leader for
permission to act.  Sensing their anxiety, there was a moment when I was
tempted to change the process, but I trusted the process instead.  Which was
right.

    also 2 more questions:

     1/ If people are not acquanted, will the process of acquantence, even
short one change the atmosphere?
    is it better with the process of acquaintance or without? there will be
some 45 people.

    Introductions can slow a group down.  People get to know one another as
they engage in their work in Open Space.

    and

    2/ As we are still not used to read reports at the end and I would like
to make presentations, is it better to make it at the first day and then at
the second - the rest, or at the end - before closing session? How do you
think?

    I would like to hear from others about this.

    Best wishes, Elena.  Thank you for your fine questions.

    Chris Weaver
    Asheville, North Carolina, USA


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