[OSList] how to organize record of proceedings in a 3h1/2 OST format ?

[Lisa Heft]

Great thoughts everyone.
I like using a template whether for written notes or for graphic  
notes. And when they are graphic notes or flip-charts that are mostly  
graphic - I ask someone from the group to add a one-sentence to  
paragraph text description of the conversation. As I find that helps  
people who were not in the group - who did not have the context, body  
language or non-verbal communication the group creating that flip  
chart had) better access what those flip-chart notes or graphics are  
showing.

It is also true that documentation design depends not just on the time  
available but also on the objectives and desired outcomes for the  
event, how the ideas and information generated in the meeting will  
best be used by the participants and / or host organization after the  
event, and more. All this may influence how the notes-taking process  
is designed. Is it most useful to document the conversations / the  
narrative, or is it most useful to have a list of topics and who  
attended, or key images that the group will return to in the next part  
of the chain of their meetings, or what.

And for Open Space or anything - there is always an interesting  
thought process behind what we add, remove, do for participants, have  
them do and so on.
I like all of these options for having the participants still take  
their own notes - whether that is to invite them to complete typing  
their notes after dinner at a table full of laptops, have them pass a  
participant sign-in sheet during their discussion, asking people to  
write some text below a graphic image, or hand in their notes to have  
them photographed or photocopied. One of the key benefits of  
documentation includes widening the knowledge shared so it is not just  
the group who talked who gets the benefit of that particular wisdom -  
but that others who attended that event may also learn from those  
diverse people and discussion topics.

I do know that it is hard for participants to step away from the vital  
conversations in a super-short Open Space - and that memory fades and  
'Monday happens' after an event. So my goal is to design for and  
gather all documentation within the real time of the event - even if I  
am putting it together and sending it out to participants some time  
soon after the event.

Nice idea for the phone app, Chris. You are so great in the ways you  
use technical stuff in service to humans....

Christine I smile when this conference host wants to boost empowerment  
but only gives a few hours in the overall conference for this  
participant-driven content. Oh well - that is sometimes how it  
happens, even with our asking for / showing alternatives to find more  
time within the conference schedule. I say the fundamental thing is -  
and you know this, Christine - to trust your intuition. You let us  
know that having a break for inputting notes did not feel right - so  
there is your deep body-sense of knowledge about that part, right  
inside you...

Lisa


On Nov 20, 2012, at 12:03 PM, Chris Corrigan wrote:

> I have a great iPhone app called Genius Scan that allows me to take  
> photos of sessions reports and compile them into a pdf and upload  
> them to Dropbox.  When I have a fast turnaround, I just have people  
> neatly write a summary of their conversation and I compile the  
> report and send it out to everyone.
>
> It doesn't do character recognition, but it at least ensures that  
> people have access to all the handwritten copies of the reports in  
> real time.
>
> Chris
>