SV: Thoughts on a Town Crier

Mon Jan 14 11:20:00 PST 2008

Dear friends in Open Space

I’m in the middle of a 3 day OS training with 16 participants and we’ve
discussed similair things at times during this first day. Such as “does the
facilitator have to tell people that they may help themselves with coffee
and tea” although it is just in the face of them, or can he/she assume they
grab whatever they like? 

I think we have a lot to dis-learn to get back in shape. Small kids would
never ask before grabbing whatever they like – until they are taught that
it’s probably not OK if noone said so, or that they have to ask first. 

I see many situations in Open Space of my life as well as in an OS-meeting
when adults wait for permission instead of acting or at least asking...and
an important aspect of OST, to me, is to allow people to learn to be
responsible, in the process. After a while they get it. But this can make
the learning a bit rough in short OS-meetings.

Anyway, I follow HO’s advice and do my best to find another thing not to do.
So I trust people do whatever is best for them – may it be rough learning...

Warm regards

Thomas Herrmann

PS Today I had a nap, played pool and walked in the snow – during our Open
Space-meeting. Great! DS

  _____  

Från: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] För Peggy Holman
Skickat: den 13 januari 2008 18:23
Till: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Ämne: Thoughts on a Town Crier

Has anyone noticed more milling about before people move into sessions over
the last few years?  I'd been noticing enough of a trend this way that I
always intend to explicitly tell people that there won't be anyone telling
them when to move, that it is up to them to follow their own rhythms and
interests.  I haven't quite internalized this yet, so I usually forget.
Anyway, I think I may have figured out what is going on.

I just did an OS for a friend for a group of about 50.  He uses OS a lot but
wanted to be able to really participate in this one.   He told me that he
was a little surprised when the first round of breakout sessions was
starting that I didn't tell people it was time to get started.  He came to
me when the first round after lunch were scheduled to start and asked me
wasn't I going to ring a bell and let people know?  I basically told him
that I never did that.  The participants were adults and could figure it out
for themselves.  He was floored and a little upset.  He said he always lets
people know.  And then it dawned on me:  there are more and more people who
have experienced OS.  Perhaps there are many practitioners doing what Jon
does - telling people when it is time to start the next session.  I realized
that since most of these folks came at Jon's invitation, they were probably
enculturated to responding to a bell.  

So I took what seemed a middle ground to me and rang a bell, saying, "It's
1:30 and all's well."  I figured a town crier was a minimalist thing to do
-- providing information without attachment to how people used it.

I then spoke more with Jon because I wanted to understand his perspective.
He said that to him, what is posted, like the session start times, are part
of the commons and when he is holding the space, that is part of his
contract with the group, to give them the information.  He doesn't care what
they do once they hear it.  So, it strikes me that Town Crier is a good
description of what he does.

Given the trend I mentioned, I suspect Jon isn't the only one doing
something like this.  I'd love to hear other thoughts on providing
information that marks the passage of time.

from sunny (for a change) 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

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