[OSList] Signing up for sessions

[Lisa Heft]

Congratulations on your upcoming adventure, Rob !

> On Nov 5, 2011, at 12:10 AM, Rob van der Eyden wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>> I am preparing an Open space later this week. My first one… So was  
>> going through the book yesterday. Sounds all good and exciting.
>> One – probably stupid – question though: after the issues have been  
>> raised, agenda made and marketplace opened, how do participants  
>> sign up for sessions? Is that really by subscribing on paper or  
>> just by showing up at the time and place that was planned for the  
>> session?
>> Thanks & best regards, Rob



Let us know what you noticed and learned and felt after you have this  
experience.

As you may well know, there are no stupid questions. It is just not  
possible. Every question someone asks is an opportunity for us all to  
learn and share and think together.

There are two thoughts on this particular item - and perhaps other  
different thoughts as well that I am not aware of.

One thought is that after all the topics are up on the wall and you  
have explained anything left to explain (about the notes-taking  
process, about when lunch or Closing Circle will be, etc.), you invite  
people to come to the wall and write their name on any and all of the  
topics they are interested in and inspired by. So they write their  
names directly on the topic signs. This signifies intention.

Another 'school' of thought is that by doing that - convenors of  
sessions are looking at how many signatures they got - and responding  
according to the old / only model they know about meetings. If they  
have zero signatures some of those convenors decide 'oh I guess nobody  
cares about my topic' and some remove their topic sign, thinking there  
is no interest. Other convenors think 'oh so many people are  
interested in my topic I nust find a huge area for our conversation'  
because they see so many signatures. When in actuality, with everyone  
moving about with the Law of Two Feet and as butterflies and  
bumblebees - and being inspired by what happens at each moment  
throughout the day - that original bunch of signatures is not an  
indication of what will actually happen during the day.  And the  
person removing themselves from the agenda because they do not see  
signatures may be the key visionary whose very diverse thought can  
change the whole nature of the work. Even if they meet in their own  
session by themselves and write for an hour to add that reflection (or  
those questions) to the Book of Proceedings. So these facilitation  
colleagues do not include that step about participants coming to the  
wall to sign their names on those topic signs for which they have  
interest.

Either way - yes - people just show up to the conversations. And move  
around. And come in and out. Those signs stay on the Agenda Wall and  
that is always a point of reference in the large meeting room where  
all the conversations are happening.

I invite my colleagues to share more about their different thoughts  
and experiences with this element. As you can see perhaps by my  
writing above, I am of the second 'school'...

Either way you decide to do it, Rob - is perfect.
And you might want to try it one time one way, the next time you  
facilitate you can try it the other way - and see what you yourself  
feel and observe - as information for the next time.

Enjoy breathing and not intervening and trusting the people and the  
process, Rob, and we look forward to hearing how it went,
Lisa


Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
President, Open Space Institute US
Fellow, Columbia University Center for International Conflict Resolution
Opening Space
lisaheft at openingspace.net

  - The Open Space Learning Workshop / el Taller de Aprendizaje de  
Espacio Abierto - December 14-16, 2011 - San Francisco, USA (en inglés)


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