OS & Open Conferences

Mon Jan 10 08:46:34 PST 2011

Hi, Jon - thanks for your question.

I facilitate a lot of conferences in OS.  From bankers to doctors to  
educators, activists, farmers and others.

I invite you to re-interpret the concept that urgency or a real  
business issue is a required condition of / for OS - into... people  
passionate about issues in their field coming together for a dynamic  
knowledge exchange conference.

Some of the conferences I facilitate are traditional format on Day 1  
and Open Space on Day 2; some are all OS.

Various concerns of organizers switching to include OS are:

What about the 'draw' - the big names that will help people decide to  
come?
- invite interesting big-name people to be part of the Open Space and  
say they'll be there (let those people know it's not presentation and  
they are welcome as participants; ideally choose the ones you know who  
will love mixing in and attending other peoples' sessions instead of  
being a teacher to everyone)
- or use the big-name people on Day 1 (and invite them to Day 2 but  
some may stay / some may not stay for Day 2 - most are used to  
presenting and leaving)
- or your client will understand that the room will be full of experts  
and will be excited about naming that peer-to-peer learning exchange

How to show prospective attendees (and their supervisors) the agenda  
if there is no advance agenda?
- You can show an agenda. You can explain it all in conference-talk  
('plenary session' which means the full group is together for that  
session)
- You can even make a professional-looking website or print it on very  
slick paper with registration information.
- '8:30a-9:00a Breakfast and Networking; 9:00a-10:00a Opening Plenary  
Session; 10:00a-4:00p Working Sessions (lunch will be included);  
4:00p-5:00p Closing Plenary Session

How do you let prospective participants know about content if there  
are no particulars on the agenda?
- Your client knows what the cutting-edge topics are in the field -  
what people are talking about in the hallways - the things people  
really wish they could talk about.
- You can help them create text that has interesting questions about  
these topics - for their website or brochure - it's all part of a  
juicy invitation.

What about our networking luncheons?
- Open Space is all networking, all the time. Let's do a box / packet  
lunch to further help that happen (if it's a shorter OS lunch can be a  
working session)

What about continuing education credits and the need for my attendees  
to present their data at a conference?
- You can offer credits to a conference for probable topics they will  
cover in their working sessions.
- You can create a gallery of poster presentations the hour before the  
conference, or the day before, for them to share their data and research
- You can invite them to host a topic in the Open Space - assuring  
them that their findings will be included in the proceedings

Some of the things I find are important when doing conferences are:

- If they insist on having a big-name speaker in the morning to draw  
people to the day - have a nice break where people get up and moving -  
to network, to go into the OS room and get their break nibbles and  
beverages. As with any OS meeting where there is first presentation,  
peoples' bodies fall to rest as they listen, even to a dynamic  
speaker. You ideally want their bodies to be ready to jump into the  
center and their brains having fun thinking of ideas.  Even more ideal  
of course is zero presenter but sometimes you do not get it the way  
you want it. Often the speaker's room is set up theatre-style and your  
OS room is set up in the round - so in some cases it is two rooms,  
allowing people to get up and move into the OS room. If your speaker  
has to present in the same room as the OS, ideally you can talk with  
them and let them know both the set-up (in the round, no powerpoint if  
possible, walk that circle) and the dynamic of what they are leading  
into (so they can say 'this is an interesting question for your Open  
Space session' etc.) .

- The work of conference committees shifts from finding speakers,  
panelists, moderators, topics, rooms, schedules...
to becoming a passionate and creative invitation team. They can meet  
each month or week to share who is not coming, whether personal phone  
calls or appearing at a local even to talk about the conference or  
some other approach will draw more people,and so on.'
- You may want to meet with the committees to answer their concerns -  
they will become your ambassadors of invitation so they'll want to  
know how to describe something they themselves have not yet experienced.

- Try not to say 'Open Space' in the title - I have seen groups think  
- when reading their conference program - that this is an open space  
in the conference - an extended break. And they leave the building.  
Then they return and are frustrated that something amazing was going  
on and they never knew about it.

- Mention the OS at other parts of the conference preceding it.  
Whoever is speaking from the 'front' (such as the conference Chair /  
Host) can tie thoughts to the OS - 'You have just heard our amazing  
and thought-provoking speaker -  - bring all your thoughts and  
questions into our Open Space session tomorrow'. or 'You will have  
more time to work on that if you like in our interactive session  
tomorrow.'

- The theme is often something like (especially if something in  
traditional format comes first) 'What else do I need to learn and  
share with each other about our work in x industry?' or 'X industry:  
What are our opportunities? What are our issues?' Of course your own  
theme question will be thoughtfully co-created with your client  
specific to their own situation and field.

- Find more time if you can - as with any kind of OS meeting. Often  
they say x hours are available - and then if you look at morning food  
time, speaker time, break time, lunch time, afternoon break time, and  
afternoon networking time (their original way of thinking about that  
day) you can find more time for a longer OS - and longer is always  
better.

- Resources and budget - Just as in any sort of OS meetingm I have  
found that you can send a message out to all registered attendees - if  
you plan to have a Newsroom with computers in it - who can bring their  
laptop for mutual use during the day (assuring them that you will set  
up guest accounts on their computers, they will not be networked, but  
will instead be used as word processors). Ask them to reply via survey  
or email so you'll know in advance, and get more than you think you'll  
need (because there are always some people who forget to bring them).  
That saves the client a lot of money and I find that enough people are  
happy to do it to create a fully-equipped computer-based Newsroom.

And of course the plusses of doing OS at a conference - you know it all.
And it includes a full record of proceedings to which the client can  
add cover letters, photographs, a list of contact information for  
attendees to continue their networking, and more.
Which is more than you get for your traditional format conference.

Jon, they are lucky to have you.
I know you will facilitate a really wonderful conference,

Lisa

Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
President, Open Space Institute US
Co-Host, Open Space on Open Space 2011 SF March 2-4
Opening Space
lisaheft at openingspace.net 

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