[OSList] A 3hr OST slot at Conference

[Jane Lewis]

Sandy - Gosh, what a write-up. I learned, and felt, so much reading through
your reflection. So rich!
Jane

On Mon, Nov 19, 2012 at 2:41 AM, Sandy Gee <wildbalance at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello again lovely OS community,
> I posted a question asking for advice on here a few months ago. It was
> about organising a 3 hour OS slot in the afternoon of an Existential
> Psychotherapy Conference in a non-ideal setting - A very formal and smart
> space with an auditorium in fixed tiered rows.
>
> I benefitted hugely from all the input I got here as well as at Lisa's
> workshop in London and at WOSONOS.
>
> It happened on Saturday and I'd like to report that it was a great success!
>
> Though the organisers had been very nervous about it and the setting was
> pretty challenging I was well prepared and had found ways to address all
> the difficulties...
>
> For the OS introduction and marketplace I followed Harrison's idea of
> making an approximate circle by putting 2 rows of chairs in an arc across
> the front of the auditorium facing the tiered rows (the chairs just going
> right across where there was a raised platform). It took a number of
> devices to get them to co-operate with sitting there - a 'welcome to Open
> Space' PP slide projected onto the screen, with the request to 'please sit
> in the chairs across the front and the first 3 rows of the auditorium'. I
> reinforced it with 'DO NOT SIT IN THIS ROW' signs on all the upper rows
> (and string blocking off the rows on the other side). And then when I saw
> that they were nervous and reluctant - strong personal appeals to "please
> come forward and sit across the front - nothing special or spotlighting
> will be asked of you, we're just trying to create a sort-of circle". The
> reluctance was very understandable as they had been in that space earlier
> with 3 big name speakers just presenting and them all as passive audience.
> And indeed this is the style previous conferences have all been.
>
> I used humour about the awkward and uneven circle - telling them that the
> varied height circle was intending to communicate our equality! And I was
> able to easily link it all to the conference theme which was 'Challenging
> Contexts and Uncertain Landscapes'! Indeed this seemed to help break the
> initial ice.
>
> I followed your idea Lisa of 'implying the circle' by placing the
> principles around the perimeter of the circle (having to invent some
> creative ways of doing that using string and pegs in places to avoid
> anything attached to the walls) and by circling around the space as I gave
> my introduction and explanation of the process. Thank you too Lisa for your
> advice in your 'thoughts and Ideas' PDF, in which you suggested setting up
> my living room with the themes on the wall and practicing circling the
> space and speaking aloud whilst imagining being there. That helped me to
> get more clear and concise. It helped me to notice where I had a tendency
> to get repetitive or long-winded/unclear and discipline myself to keep it
> simple and brief enough for the short time I had. I also typed out pretty
> much what I would say with coloured sub-headings to orientate me if I
> should get a bit lost in the nerves of it all. I only looked at it once,
> but the process of writing that and then just having it there helped. This
> was a much more formal, bigger and more time constrained situation than
> I've done OS in before and all this helped me cope with that.
>
> Actually the awkwardness and obvious inconvenience of using the auditorium
> in that way in some ways helped make the transition to the informality and
> 'mucking in' quality OS needs. Following their initial reluctance to sit in
> the awkward circle - I was pleased and surprised that they got stuck in
> quite easily with the paper and pens for writing up their topics - some
> handing paper back for people to write in their rows before coming forward
> and others even speaking first with a just blank paper in their hand and
> then writing up what they'd said more concisely afterwards.
>
> We started a bit late but easily got through the marketplace in the 45mins
> and off they went to their 1st sessions (11 topics in each of the 2
> sessions). (I managed to wangle an extra 15 minutes on initially proposed
> 30 minutes by encouraging the organisers to let me take more of the time
> for the OS closure out of the whole conference closure - thanks for that
> idea Lisa).
>
> For session topic zones I used laminated orange A4 sheets with letters on
> bamboo poles cable-tied to the chair legs (like at WOSONOS 2012). I
> attached velcro re-usable cable ties to the top of the poles which i could
> then thread through slots in the laminated A4 sheets to create 'zone flags'
> (easier to dismantle and transport) for each of the circles of chairs.
> These were set up in other rooms than the auditorium (according to a layout
> plan I'd drawn up) and this worked well.
>
> We had a challenge with the agenda wall being created in the auditorium
> but the topic zone areas being in a separate part of the venue. That made
> it impractical for people to refer to the auditorium agenda board when
> bumblebeeing between sessions. So we simply got moveable boards and, after
> the marketplace, we moved them to the hall outside where the OS topic
> sessions were taking place. We used light A2 foam boards, used 'dual tack
> double-sided tape' to 'post-it' them to the auditorium wall, then were able
> to remove and reposition them, after the marketplace, onto doors in the
> hall.
>
> The closing session was back in the auditorium in the awkward circle at
> the front and by then people had got comfortable with participating, so
> freely offered snippets of their experience of both the process and the
> content. Many were energised, enjoyed it, felt excited and had started
> conversations they'd wanted to have but didn't know how. One said that this
> now felt like a community in a way that it never had before. A few
> expressed discomfort with aspects of the process - feeling conflicted in
> having to decide whether to stay or move, being much more aware of the
> encounter with the people rather than just the material for discussion,
> feeling grumpy and rebellious about notetaking and how they felt it
> interrupted the process. But even those who had found it uncomfortable also
> expressed that they'd got something from it. And the content that they fed
> back about was expressed with interest, excitement and edginess. A couple
> expressed surprise that it worked when they had felt sure it couldn't!
>
> Interestingly one of them expressed a sense of slight stiltedness and
> flattening of the energy to be back in the formality of the auditorium for
> the closure after the freedom of the Open Space sessions and suggested that
> if we'd just got people to re-position the chairs in the larger room where
> the sessions had taken place it would have retained more of the energy of
> OS. I hadn't imagined that this could be possible due to the numbers, but
> by that point we were down to about half the participants so it actually *
> could* have worked. (About a third left at lunchtime and another third
> before the OS closure - apparently very usual at this conference and partly
> a result of an overly long and packed agenda). Interestingly - another case
> of that 'once they've had a taste, they resist any going back into a more
> constricted space' phenomena!
>
> I personally received a lot of great feedback both directly and in how
> people interacted with me - many people seemed to find me easily
> approachable and came and talked to me or just dropped in a comment in
> passing. A lot were very appreciative, two gave me very specific feedback
> on how I had been a great facilitator (unflustered when things went wrong,
> informal, warm, clear). A couple expressed dilemmas - what they wanted to
> do, but felt too shy (I encouraged them to dare to do it anyway and they
> did), another felt a bit bad about not having taken notes (I encouraged him
> to consider - was there anything now they were finished that they'd like to
> share with the rest of the conference? and just write that - which he did).
>
> All in all there was a real energetic buzz, people were excited and
> appreciative, several things had been started that there were plans to
> carry forward further and it looks very likely that Open Space will be part
> of next years conference.
>
> Thank you everyone who helped me with your great ideas and generous
> encouragement. I'm thrilled and look forward to more...
>
> Sandy Gee
> *wildbalance at gmail.com*
>
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-- 
~~
Jane E Lewis LIU Zhi-Lian
+886 (0) 932 259 844
HawaiiBreeze (Skype)
~~
Exploring realities
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