[OSList] How big is a circle with 300 people?

Mon Jun 8 09:06:47 PDT 2015

here's how i described it over in the facebook group...

(1) make the largest possible circle in your space. (2) make one or more
additional circles INSIDE the first circle. make each one small enough (far
enough IN from the first, so that people can walk normally rather that
squeeze sideways between rows. (3) now make openings in "inner" circles so
that you have only 3 to 6 or maybe 7 chairs and then a 2-chair opening.

sometimes i've made one big (long) circle and then a few inside rows at
each end of a long cigar-shaped room. the point is that there is only one
circle, and then extra, front-row seats inside, rather than a circle with
backrows or corners where people are outside of the main circle. also, by
putting more openings and more space between rows, we expose more people to
the spaciousness of the center of the circle. this way, everybody feels
that exposure and has easiest possible access to markers and paper at
center.

add to this what harrison said... about also maintaining as much space in
the center as you can (and leaving space against the main wall... and you
have a balance to work out the spacing in any circle(s) and any room.

and kari, i have heard about one group, a hospital organization, where the
room they had simply wasn't big enough for chairs for everyone.  they did
one big circle, some inside rows (partial circles) and then invited folks
to sit on the floor.  worked as usual.

and then there was this event... 200+ people in a cigar-shaped room... the
picture in this post shows not even half of the group.  everything is
wrong, including the eye-killing carpet.  and the marketplace is about to
be posted on that tiny little wall at the end of the circle.  and it worked
anyway!

http://www.michaelherman.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/scrum1.jpg
 photo
http://www.michaelherman.com/wordpress/archives/2008/06/16/scrum/  post

--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
http://MichaelHerman.com
http://OpenSpaceWorld.org

On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 10:53 AM, Harold Shinsato via OSList <
oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

>  Great conversation! Michael Herman posted a very interesting idea on the
> Facebook which I hope to try out. He said his approach with multiple
> concentric circles is to try to have the outer circle be the only "real"
> complete circle, and the inner circles are more like broken groups of
> chairs of 7. I have trouble visualizing it - but I sense it would help. At
> large OST events with more one circle, the inner most circle in my
> experience is the most engaged circle. Spectators go to the back. And it's
> hard to get to the center from anywhere but the center circle. Michael H's
> idea may not maximize the number of people you can put in the room, but it
> does attempt to make the center more equally accessible.
>
> What Michael M.P. speaks two subjects around the circle setup strikes a
> chord in me. Firstly, for those setting up an OST, it is *very* important
> to know the regulations and restrictions of the venue and the local laws
> for chair setup. At my local University, there was an insurance issue about
> someone tripping while moving chairs around so they don't let attendees
> move their own chairs. Only the paid facilities personnel are allowed. I
> pushed back a bit and they said they didn't mind if there was a little bit
> of chair movement and adjustment, but not mass migrations. Which meant we
> couldn't reuse the chairs in the main circle for breakouts in that space
> (which meant renting more space for breakouts), and it required there be
> lots of space around the agenda wall since we couldn't ask people to
> self-organize the movement of chairs. Frustrating! I believe Open Space
> really works best with a flexible chair set up. But whatever is - just is.
>
> Michael M. P. also mentioned that a flawed circle can diminish the OST.
> This is something I've also experienced. I do wonder about also allowing
> the circle to breathe. If it's "too perfect", it can feel static and
> un-alive. I think this element of "perfection" in the posters and the
> facilitation can also be an issue. It should have an element of
> imperfection and transience. The Japanese aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi comes to
> mind. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi
>
>     Cheers,
>     Harold
>
>
> On 6/8/15 1:54 AM, Michael M Pannwitz via OSList wrote:
>
> Dear Anna,
>
> if you do this in Germany (as we did with the 2108  in  Würzburg) you
> need to deal with the fire department ... and every one of the 16 states
> has different rules. Usually, you are limited to 199 chairs that you can
> place any way you like in a room. If you have more, the exact floor plan
> with the circles and all needs to go through an administrative
> process... usually (always) the people in the venue know about this. If
> you have more than 199 chairs, the chairs need to be either bolted to
> the floor are hinged together, mostly in bunches of 5.
>
> In  Würzburg we got around all of this by getting 2108 pillows in I
> think 13 concentric circles... the were then also used by participants
> for breakout spaces, massage areas, napping spaces ... etc.
>
> For the geometry itself you got a large number of highly professional
> pointers alreadd, I just want to add
> Start with the inner circle and have it be a really perfect circle.
> S.H. (something happens OR selforganisation happens) when the circle is
> perfect.
> Do you remember the situation in the Moscow WOSonOS a few years ago when
> things were simply perceived as pretty awful by the facilitator (I think
> it might have been Raffi) and he asked one of the seniors of OST present
> (I am sure it was Birgitt Williams) what she suggests we should do. She
> got up and asked very one in the room to grab their chairs and make a
> perfect circle of what actually was a pretty messed up circle.
> Folks followed her suggestion, got up, created a perfect circle, sat
> down and then instantaneously mega
> S.H.
>
> hugs
> mmp
>
> PS: Go to this very long link to get more details on the Würzburg event
>
>
> http://openspace-landschaft.de/an_veran.asp?veranstaltungId=355&sprache=en&von_seite=ue_veranstaltung.asp&ds=8&branche=&begleiterId=9&anzeigeOrtId=0
>
>
> If you use the following link you get to the pretty fantastic photo story
> by Erich Kolenaty where you can click on a pdf file which I am afraid is
> too bulky to attach to this mail
>
> http://www.transformation.at/article46.htm
>
>
>
>
> 08.06.2015 06:05, Koos de Heer via OSList wrote:
>
> Thanks Harrison.
>
> In my experience, two meters is fine to pass behind the rows on your
> way to the agenda wall, but it is not enough when you have 300 people
> in front of the agenda wall trying to figure out where they want to
> go. You don’t want people tripping over the empty chairs that are in
> the way. So directly in front of the agenda wall, I would allow for
> at least 6 meters (20 feet) if you have 300 participants.
>
> Good luck Anna Carolina!
>
> Koos
>
> *Van:*OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
> <oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org>] *Namens
>  *Harrison via OSList *Verzonden:* maandag 8 juni 2015 3:10 *Aan:*
> 'Anna Caroline Türk'; 'World wide Open Space Technology email list'
> *Onderwerp:* Re: [OSList] How big is a circle with 300 people?
>
> I do love this! And Koos – your spread sheet is fabulous!! Frankly,
> I’ve found that the basic “rule of thumb” – take the rated room size
> and divide by 2  -- will get you started. (A room rated for 300 will
> work well for an Open Space of 150)... and from there on out you just
> have to go with the flow. Remembering: 1) Have as much space in the
> center as you can, so folks aren’t all crowed together. After all
> this is OPEN Space. And 2) Leave a meter or two (3-6 feet) between
> the last row and the Wall so that folks can easily post their issues.
> Congestion slows everything down. After that, anything will work. Or
> more to the point, the people will figure the way. And do have fun!
>
> Harrison
>
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>  *From:*OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
> <oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org>] *On
> Behalf Of *Anna Caroline Türk via OSList *Sent:* Sunday, June 07,
> 2015 5:18 PM *To:* OS List *Subject:* [OSList] How big is a circle
> with 300 people?
>
> Dear all,
>
> Please help me do the math: How is the radius of concentric circles
> with 300 participants?
>
> How many rows do you think it will be?
>
> Thank you!
>
> much Love
>
> Anna Caroline
>
> photo
>
>
>
> *Anna Caroline Türk*
>
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> --
> Harold Shinsato
> harold at shinsato.com
> http://shinsato.com
> twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush>
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