Ligthening Talks Overcoming the alienation of lectures

Sun Jan 6 09:50:15 PST 2008

I am intrigued by Peggy's statement:" It isn't Open Space, which is the
ultimate liberation.  Still, it opens a little more space when there was
none before."

And my intrigue comes from the notion that "our job" (if I can put it that
way) is to open space and not necessarily "do" an Open Space. This relates
to the theme I have been trying to work here about "eliminating the middle
man." When we shift our attention from doing an Open Space to the more
generic "opening space," I think some good things might happen. First off we
would no longer be stuck with the limited time/space event and find that we
have useful things to do in every situation. And the key is, how much space
can we open? With the presumption that more is better. Another realization
might be that all of life is open space -- albeit some spaces are more open
than others.

And why would this make any difference? My answer would be that when space
is (more) open, the complex adaptive systems that we and our organizations
naturally are have more room to function and change -- and thereby become
more adaptive to their environment. There are no guarantees of course, and
eventually all systems poop out. But in the interim there is a high
probability that we can experience serious improvement in terms of levels of
performance, and not incidentally will have more fun!

This is not about organizing anything (new method, new approach) but rather
allowing the naturally occurring organization to emerge and blossom. We
might think of ourselves as gardeners -- creating space for the flowers to
bloom.

Little whimsical I guess, but for sure we would be engaged in open space
24X7X365.

Harrison 

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland   20854
Phone 301-365-2093
Skype hhowen
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com 
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website www.ho-image.com 
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Peggy
Holman
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2008 8:29 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Ligthening Talks Overcoming the alienation of lectures

I'm intrigued by Lightening Talks.  Over the last several years, I've 
convened a number of gatherings of loose-knit groups with pretty abstract 
topics.  I've learned that it is important to do something as part of the 
opening that helps frame the intention more clearly.  This sounds like a 
fun, bottom-up way to do that in which not one view prevails, but instead 
offers many alternatives around the organizing theme.

On a different subject, Kerry alluded to the need to:

> overcome the inevitable alienation of conventional lectures by "experts," 
> leading to people tuning out because they have limited attention spans and

> would be challenged to find each subject of equal interest.

When I've been in situations where someone is going to lecture or even do a 
panel, I've found a simple way to shift the energies.  Before the speaker(s)

do their thing, invite people to gather in groups of 2-5 and have a 10 
minute conversation on a question along the lines of:

What questions do you have, that if answered, would equip you to move into 
action?

Then take about 5 minutes just to listen to the questions they generate. 
There's no need to answer them, just let them permeate the room.

Now, when the lecture happens, there is a local context.  Additionally:

*  The audience is no longer passive - they are actively engaged and 
listening through the lens of their own questions.

*  The speakers are now in service to the people and the needs of their 
community.

*  The many networks of people who come into the same room because the 
speaker is present start to connect and deepen their ties with each other, 
leaving new relationships and seeds for action in the wake of the speaker.

If it is possible to keep the talk to 20 minutes, you can further shift 
things by inviting the audience to talk after the speech for 5 minutes in 
their small groups.  This sets the stage for a conversation between the 
speaker(s) and the group.  People can ask questions and express insights. 
While this may look like traditional Q&A, the small group conversations 
change the atmosphere, enabling other's experiences to become more visible, 
bringing the voice of indigenous leadership present.

It isn't Open Space, which is the ultimate liberation.  Still, it opens a 
little more space when there was none before.

from a damp Seattle,
Peggy

________________________________
Peggy Holman
The Open Circle Company
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA  98006
(425) 746-6274

www.opencirclecompany.com

For the new edition of The Change Handbook, go to:
www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook

"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt,

is to become
the fire".
  -- Drew Dellinger

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "kerry napuk" <k at napuk.demon.co.uk>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 10:13 AM
Subject: [OSLIST] Advice on running Open Space with 250-300 people

> Hi
>
> One way to bridge the urge of mixing talking heads and Open Space is to 
> ask the sponsor to open by painting the landscape for the event, 
> highlighting the need to gather and address the theme by raising issues 
> involving passion and responsibility.  Of course, as facilitators we only 
> ask that the sponsor limit their "painting" to a maximum of five (5) 
> minutes, because people have come to discuss their issues not hear another

> "message from the top."
>
> Linking several lightning talks together, no matter how brief, fails to 
> overcome the inevitable alienation of conventional lectures by "experts," 
> leading to people tuning out because they have limited attention spans and

> would be challenged to find each subject of equal interest.    It would be

> far better if each "lightning talker" became a convenor and raised their 
> issue for a group of interested people to discuss.
>
> A fundamental dynamic of Open Space is to allow people to chose where they

> want to work,  attracted by the issue and invitation for direct 
> participation.  This self selection process to find common interest, 
> regardless of viewpoint, gives the focus and possibility of co-creation 
> woefully missing if you are lucky enough to accidently bump into someone 
> during a coffee break and wished the conversation could have gone deeper 
> and included more people.
>
> Cheers
>
> Kerry Napuk
> Edinburgh
> www.openfutures.com
>
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