opening space with very small groups

[douglas germann]

Diane--

I like your gentle and kind approach. Thank you for posting about your
method--I will use it the next time I am in that situation.

The last time was this spring when we had a Ku Klux Klan member at a
meeting about immigration. I did not handle it well, suggesting that it
would be better to have several groups from which to choose. It worked
well, denying the person who did turn out to be a space invader
want-to-be, the floor from which to make a diatribe. Your way is far
preferable. 

In any case, the lesson for me is that the Law of Two Feet helps keep
the energy and creativity up.

			:- Doug. Germann

On Tue, 2006-09-19 at 20:55 -0400, Diane Gibeault wrote:
>  Bonjour Esther,
> 
> When I opened space for a group of 7 and groups of 10 or so, I did
> everything the same as usual. With the group of 7, people said, "why don't
> we all stick together?" Their reason was "we are such a small group" and
> not, we really all want to talk about all of the topics.
> 
> So I gently encouraged them to try the OS approach at least for the first
> round, i.e. making choices, being a bumble bee if needed or using their two
> feet. They did try all of the above and never looked back. They just
> followed their energy from that point on and completely forgot about the
> other structured approach they proposed. Even with such a small group, you
> could feel the energy in the room.
> 
> At the end, they were amazed at what they had experienced and discovered.
> They had gone deeper in conversations and in developing inter-personal
> relations, which was a central objective for the event.
> 
> So many stories to tell about this simple but magical process.
> 
> Bonnes chances Esther,
> 
> Diane
> 
> Diane Gibeault CPF / FPA
> Diane Gibeault & Associé.es-Associates
> Ottawa, ON, Canada  (613) 744-2638
> www.dianegibeault.com diane.gibeault at roger.com
> Facilitation and Training in Support of Transformation
> Facilitation et formation en appui à la transformation
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of
> Communications Esther Matte
> Sent: September 19, 2006 8:29 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: opening space with very small groups
> 
> 
> Hello everyone!
> 
> First, let me say thank you for the wonderful learning I found in the
> OSList.  I’m new to Open Space, and even though I have yet to make my
> “first big circle” as Ted put it recently, I feel more confident thanks to
> you all.
> 
> I may have two possible projects with very small groups (5-7 people) ­
> which is what worries me.  I have participated to one OST in my
> experiential training with Diane Gibeault (fantastic!), and co-facilitated
> one with 45 people. But I simply cannot visualize how it works with as few
> as 5 people. How do you do this? Do you have several rounds of discussions?
> In separate rooms? Do people actually work by themselves and team up? Can
> you do it in approximately 3 hours ? (Maybe 20-30 minutes opening, 2 X
> 40-minutes rounds of discussion or 3 X 30-minutes, action planning and
> closing).
> 
> I'm sure some of you have done this. I'll be meeting with the first
> possible group next week, and nothing is set in stone yet for the other.
> Any comments, suggestions, ideas or warnings will be very much appreciated.
> 
> Thank you very much in advance for your time!
> 
> Esther Matte
> Communications Esther Matte
> 1011, Marie-Victorin
> Verchères (Québec) J0L 2R0
> www.excellence.ca
> 
> "L'art de dire"
> 
> Tél. : (450) 583-5849
> Téléc. : (450) 583-3513
> 
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