[OSList] How to prepare to be surprised?

[Michael M Pannwitz]

Dear Harold,
in a training a few years ago I asked the "apprentice" facilitators to 
set up the room for an os-event, posters and all. They discovered that 
one of the pinwalls had a short and a long leg (surprise). Since the 
number of pinwalls were limited, none left over, they decided to use 
that one to post "Be prepared to be surprised", it did not look orderly 
or "normal". I felt this was a grand technical breakthrough 
incorporating all the important philosophy and practice described). 
Since then I post the admonition not straight and "orderly" but in 
contrast to the other posters at an angle.
As people approach the venue they first see a sign "Welcome" (in German: 
Herzlich Willkommen) and when just in front of the main room the 
admonition (usually to the right or left of the door).
More detail: in contrast to all the other posters which are hung like 
paintings (flip chart paper turned horizontal) the admonition is hung 
vertically.

By the way, the German version is "Augen auf! Mit Überraschungen ist zu 
rechnen!" which, translated back into English, would be: "Attention!(or, 
more literally: "Open your eyes!") "There will be surprises!"

Greetings from Berlin enjoying this multilevel exchange the day before 
Easter
mmp

On 07.04.2012 02:56, Harold Shinsato wrote:
> Thanks for so many wonderful responses and food for thought. It was very
> cool to see it inspired a video from Alex Iglecia. Clearly a lot of
> years went into getting to that level of understanding the mind/body
> elements that guide his recommendations about how to prepare to be
> surprised.
>
> I especially enjoying the poster tip. It seems a very simple way to get
> people in the right mood. I was wondering if there were any good artwork
> for such a poster that I could do for my next Open Space - but Thomas'
> upside down seems elegantly simple.
>
> Improv came up several times. I love improv! I think it's interesting
> that one of the leading improv gurus, Keith Johnstone, wrote a book
> called "Don't Be Prepared". He's more famous for "Impro", but I cracked
> open the book that seems to eschew preparation and came upon the
> beginning of a chapter titled "BEING THERE":
>
>     My first students seemed quite normal until I asked them to
>     improvise; many of them would then become 'over-strong', banging
>     violently on tables, or patting their partner's shoulders with flat
>     hands that did not yield to the contours that they touched.
>
>     If I walked into a scene when they were 'acting' they often failed
>     to observe me, and their muscles felt as hard as wood. A player who
>     tried to join a scene in progress was always likely to be ignored. [...]
>
>     I began interrupting improvisors in mid-flight to ask them what they
>     were doing (I'd never acted so I need to know). Always they'd use
>     the past or the future tense. "I just came in the door," they'd say,
>     or: "I'm about to sit on the sofa"; no one ever said: "I'm wondering
>     where to sit!"
>
>     I realized that my own mind moved into the past or the future
>     whenever I felt insecure (Should I do this? Should I have done
>     that?), and that when I seemed to be 'listening' to someone I might
>     actually be thinking up something clever to say. My students were
>     showing an extreme version of this behaviour.
>
>
> What's interesting to me is that it does not seem normal to be able to
> improvise well. It appears to take a lot of practice being flexible,
> limber - keeping the body and mind stretched. Keith Johnstone's book is
> filled with preparations to make it possible to not be prepared. Just
> one more quote from his book - under "Paradoxical Teaching":
>
>     ... if you want students to master the art of 'not-blocking' ideas,
>     ask them to 'block' ideas (because then they'll recognize blocking
>     when it occurs inadvertently); and if you want them to act well, let
>     them have fun acting badly (this helps them shed a lot of fear).
>
>
> Harold
>
>
> On 4/6/12 3:27 PM, Thomas Herrmann wrote:
>>
>> One way I do, that may be of assistance, is that I write those words
>> at the entrence – and SURPRISED I write upside down – clear message J
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Thomas Herrmann
>>
>> *Från:*oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
>> [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *För *Harold Shinsato
>> *Skickat:* den 4 april 2012 18:39
>> *Till:* oslist at openspacetech.org
>> *Ämne:* [OSList] How to prepare to be surprised?
>>
>> Searching through the archives there were many many postings about "be
>> prepared to be surprised". But "How to be prepared to be surprised"
>> returned 0.
>>
>> Any tips on how to prepare? It came up as a question today for me in
>> conversation with someone - and I can't believe I've never thought
>> about it before. How do you prepare to be surprised? Any thoughts, tips?
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Harold
>>
>>
>
>
>
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-- 
Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49-30-772 8000
mmpanne at boscop.org	www.boscop.org


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