[OSList] The role of session transcribers, this is my oslist session invite.

Wed Oct 24 08:11:04 PDT 2012

Kari – It has always seemed to me that the real value of the notes from
various sessions was/is just to alert anybody-interested in the general
thrust and content of that session. Any similarity between OS Reports and
formal, edited, officially sanctioned minutes is purely co-incidental. I
always tried to label the “Proceedings” DRAFT, back in the days when we had
hard copy – just to make the point that it is all a work in progress. But
the good news is that -- should you be interested, but not quite understand
– you have the name (and usually email) of the author. Talk to themJ

Harrison

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)

Camden, Maine 20854

Phone 301-365-2093

(summer)  207-763-3261

www.openspaceworld.com 

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

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From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
[mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Kári Gunnarsson
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 6:58 AM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] The role of session transcribers, this is my oslist
session invite.

These are good questions

I think that bad notes are fine for the people that participated in a
session. Now I have been reading the notes from London Wosonos as I was not
able to be at location, these notes are a narrow window into the
conversations that took place, like half shadows of the dialog that was
there. Also in the blog of some critics there are complaints abut the
quality of note takers work with the context of "My contribution is not in
the notes", I wonder if each participant in my next Open Space was made
responsible to write his contributions and responses to this contribution,
this will distribute the note taking within the group based on the
contributions. I will encourage people to take care of there needs and ask
for help, but I think the task for the formal session note-taker falls in
the category for me of one less thing to do.

In past years where I have been privileged to host a session in open space,
I have felt that it was my responsibility that good notes would be taken
during the session. Therefore I have found a willing hand and asked her to
take the formal notes. This task has effect on the participation of the
note-taker and the dream of external not-takers comes to light as the notes
are of different quality and the person taking the would perhaps rather be a
butterfly at the time of the bother.

When I host my session, my old meeting culture takes over and my
expectations dictate my options. The principles and the guiding Law of open
space restrict this culture somewhat and boost productivity. I have had
experience of hosting a session of one, I had all the contributions and I
was the note-taker, at the end of my session I had some discussion next to
the coffee tables where I added some responses to my contributions notes.

This experience coupled with my need to design some documentation process
for my next open space have brought  these issues on the forefront.  I am
doing a series of short open spaces with service industry. I question the
dogma of one session - one report.  I think there will be more reporting and
more total quality if each person took care of there own contribution. 

For this paradigm shift of mine, Ill probably make some paper forms with
fields like:
(Time, Space, Name of originator, Session title, Your name, Your
contribution to session with reflections and responses.) And in my
introduction I spend good time on introducing the documentation.

On 24 October 2012 08:47, Eleder_BuM <eleder.aurtenetxe at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Kari, I share you concern and I think that distributed note-taking would
be the "natural" way in Open Space. My experience, though, is that even if
we as facilitators encourage it or as conveners ask for it to other
participants, people tend to keep their own notes. 

Maybe it´s an extra effort people don´t value much? 

Maybe something is telling us not to be so stubborn with notes, that the
really important stuff is the shift on participants bodies&spiritis and the
actions that will be born from conversations?

Maybe that some lazy lines is enough to know what the conversation content
and atmosphere was like and whoever reads it, if moved, should go to the
participants´ and start new / continue old conversations on the issue?

A big hug from Bilbao,

 <https://twitter.com/Eleder_BuM> @Eleder_BuM 
www.flowandshow.blogspot.com (En) www.burumapak.blogspot.com (Basque)   
www.in-fluyendo.blogspot.com (Sp) www.bilbohiria.com/gaika/berbaz
<http://www.bilbohiria.com/gaika/berbaz>  (radio) 

2012/10/23 Kári Gunnarsson <kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is>

Hello dear oslist community

I think about introducing distributed not-taking for sessions so that the
responsibility of notes is in the hands of every participant and not the
participant appointed session transcriber as is the general structured
meeting practice. I long for an opening in the passion and responsibility
for the written notes as well as the spoken word.

As I read about some participation content begin lost by transcribers and
experiencing it for my self, I think about the documentation design style
and the call by some to have scribes at each group. Having scribes at groups
makes my face expression wrinkle a little and I think of an alternative
solution based on the responsibility and passion of every member.

What if everyone could dot down there own contributions or ask a fellow in
the discussion to dot down there contributions if that is there need. This
way the responsibility of not-taking is distributed, and half, if not all
present take notes to there contributions.

But then we have a problem when all the different notes enter the computers,
the complexity of adding several documents as one discussion will be like a
discussion in the lists or some different beast.

I imagen that this idea has especially had some fieald time in the hads of
multi-language gathering facilitators.

My vision is a shared and individual responsibility for session note-taking
without the use of session selected representative for the role.

I ask about your experiences with this idea of distributed documentation for
each session and the solutions you have identified.

with love from Iceland
Kári

-- 
Kári Gunnarsson
kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is
gsm: +354 8645189 <tel:%2B354%208645189> 

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-- 
Kári Gunnarsson
kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is
gsm: +354 8645189

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