opening space with very small groups

[Diane Gibeault]

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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