[OSList] Closing circle 700 people

[Thomas Herrmann]

Dear friends - thanks so much for sharing from your experiences and your wisdom. I like the closing circle when the mic is passed around, as each person is so clearly invited by getting the mic in the hand, and it usually/always makes its way around in the available time. But maybe "the mics in the center"  would be more rewarding with such a large group, I guess those passionate enough will  come up. Hmm on the other hand the "running mics" may open up a bit more to everyone, I think. What do you think is the difference?
The fishbowl idea does sound interesting too, and for sure will be kept in mind for another time
All the best
Thomas



9 maj 2014 kl. 20:51 skrev Lisa Heft - <lisaheft at openingspace.net>:

> Agreed. I've done Closing Circle with 10 people and with 3500 people. It's all good. As Harrison does, as Gray does, I set up 4 microphones and say 'we have until x:00' and invite Closing Circle comments and reflections. I simply twirl in a circle (from my little platform in the middle) to gesture to the next person, the next, the next... Just as a way of holding the space and visibly witnessing. Not that I am necessary, just that people seem to feel it is useful to have that invitation ongoing as they speak. And I always have scribes - because including Closing Circle comments and reflections in the Book of Proceedings is such a wonderful gift of their voice back to the participants...
> 
> Gray, your communities are lucky to have you,
> Lisa
> 
> 
> 
> Lisa Heft
> Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
> President Emerita, Open Space Institute US
> Fellow, Columbia University Center for International Conflict Resolution
> Opening Space
>  
> On May 9, 2014, at 8:43 AM, Graydancer <graydancer at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I've done a couple of closing circles with 500+ people. We set up four microphones around a central area and everyone was in a big circle around it. We invited people to come up and share what they needed to, while also informing them of the time limits. 
>> 
>> People queued up in lines around each mic and my job as facilitator was much like a traffic cop at a four way stop, inviting people to approach each mic in turn. 
>> 
>> Though, in truth, I wasn't actually needed much once things got going - like a 4-way stop, people understood when it was their turn, and most of my time was simply spent listening. We easily made the time limit, and (I think) everyone who wanted to share got to do so. 
>> 
>> I should thank Lisa Heft for reassuring me that this kind of thing would work, as I had kind of panicked when they first asked me to run the event. But magically the amount of time seems able to remain static regardless of the number of people.
>> 
>> Hope that helps,
>> 
>> 
>> Gray 
> 
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