[OSList] Human Connection Starvation

[Daniel Mezick via OSList]

Lately I'm noticing that people are absolutely starved for genuine 
connection with other humans. Or, so it seems...

...I'm coming to this conclusion as a result of getting more and more 
experience doing these Open Space events in organizations and conferences.

At a conference at PMI in Boston last Friday, I facilitated an very 
short event that was 1 hour from end to end. We did 5-minute sessions to 
introduce the format. All 50++ of them were completely new to it. In the 
closing circle, these people reported genuine authentic pleasure in 
connecting with others.

This was more than a little strange to me, since the 3 sessions were 
just 5 minutes long.

Earlier that same week, inside an organization, with about 20-25 people, 
Harold and I with Louise Kold Taylor literally "threw together" an OST 
event last Tuesday. It was all improv. We were winging it. We were all 
unsettled. We were all making sh*t up on the fly. We had like 20 minutes 
to set it up and convene.

It wasn't supposed to work.

This "improv-episode" was missing many of the standard elements in the 
standard OST composition.
I'm embarrassed to say which... and how many.

And hey guess what? There was loads of connection and engagement by and 
between the members. LOADS.

This from an organization "with no time" to do such things. This via an 
"unsettled" facilitator. We scheduled the 45-min sessions for 10AM, 
1045AM, 330PM and 415PM. So there was this huge gap in the schedule. We 
did not expect the afternoon sessions to be attended at all. What was 
amazing to us was the fact that almost all of them returned for the 
afternoon sessions and they all immediately engaged.

All of which had me scratching my head for quite awhile. Do you know 
what I mean? As in, "what the heck is going on here?"

Why is this OST thing so robust, even when some of the essential "big O, 
big S" elements are missing? When there is "no time?" When there is no 
planning? When the facilitator is not really prepared?

What is making this OST stuff work, even when it's "slipshod" in terms 
of planning and form?

My current hypothesis is: typical people in our world are literally 
starved for real connection.

And that anything, anywhere resembling anything AT ALL that looks like a 
genuine and authentic opportunity to connect ... is going to work.

And this without "management" of things like "when to start", "when to 
stop", "topics", "silence", etc.

This Human-Connection-Starvation hypothesis might tend to explain: why 
OST always seems to (mysteriously) work, why getting out of the way is a 
primary job of the facilitator, etc.

Daniel
http://OpenSpaceAgility.com
http://DanielMezick.com


-- 

Daniel Mezick, President

New Technology Solutions Inc.

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