Bingo. The best open space meetings I have done have been culminations of weeks or months of very good and devoted invitation. The secret here is that when you treat invitation as a verb then you create the conditions for people to arrive prepared for what happens in and OS meeting.
Chris Sent from my iPhone On 2012-02-27, at 9:08 AM, Michael Herman <mich...@michaelherman.com> wrote: > the thing i like about "inviting" is that it is something we can *do* > and practice as a technical task, but also a way that we can aspire to > *be* as people, leaders of meetings and participants in the open space > of life. i don't know enough about other languages to know if this > possibility of two meanings will exist if i say inviting in other > languages. > > > > -- > > Michael Herman > Michael Herman Associates > 312-280-7838 (mobile) > > http://MichaelHerman.com > http://ManorNeighbors.com > http://OpenSpaceWorld.org > > > > > > On Mon, Feb 27, 2012 at 10:15 AM, Artur Silva <arturfsi...@yahoo.com> wrote: >> Hi, Agustin: >> >> I don't know if the word "contexting" exists in English, but I agree that >> "creating the right context" is crucial. >> >> In what concerns formal education and training, the orthodoxy is still based >> in the "impart of knowledge" and, in that model, the most important is to >> create "contents" or, as they often say, "knowledge objects". On the >> contrary, IMO what is important is to create the right contexts for learning >> to emerge. (So we may talk about "designing” only in the sense of “designing >> for emergence”). >> >> The same is true about facilitation. With the bulletin board, the market >> place, the law of two feet, etc., what OST does is to create a rich >> "context" that allows for multiple interpersonal contacts, cross pollination >> and the emergence of the new. >> >> Facilitation methods where the facilitator designs and intervenes a lot and >> controls everything (or so he believes) do the contrary of that. >> >> Ok, I agree that probably in 1% of the cases that can be useful, but not in >> the majority of the cases I have seen. >> >> Artur >> >> PS: talking about languages, may I remind you all that in Portuguese my name >> is written as above, and is not "Arthur". Indeed, if you want to know the >> correct pronunciation it is more like (in English) "Urtoor"; very different >> from "Arthur" ;-) >> >> ------------------- >> >> ________________________________ >> From: agusj <agusjs2...@yahoo.com> >> >> To: World wide Open Space Technology email list >> <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> >> Sent: Monday, February 27, 2012 3:36 PM >> >> Subject: Re: [OSList] A new term for 'facilitation'? was: Teach Them to Fish >> / A Note to My Friends >> >> Hi Bernd, >> >> Maybe “contexting” could be an usefull word in your quest. What I mean for >> "contexting" is to create the appropriate context that allows the >> participants to make distinctions that develop capacity “to fish”. In other >> words, a facilitator does not teach to fish, a facilitator creates >> (facilitates, generates) the conditions that allows participants to make >> sense of "fishing", to realize that they can “fish” and to find the best >> way to "fish" for them. >> >> What do you think about "capacity developers"? >> >> Agustin >> >> ________________________________ >> From: Bernhard Weber <web...@gmx.at> >> To: World wide Open Space Technology email list >> <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> >> Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2012 11:06 PM >> Subject: Re: [OSList] A new term for 'facilitation'? was: Teach Them to Fish >> / A Note to My Friends >> >> Artur >> >> As I said, there is probably no super word fully integrating all aspects we >> want and excluding what we do NOT want to say, >> but yes, your three examples show that there might be useful words to be >> used in this or that occasion. >> >> I try to get a feeling for the connotation-environment of each of these >> three words (within the limits of a non-english-native speaker).... >> >> nurturing still having the connotation of giving (and the related asymmetry, >> non-mutuality), >> inviting also not having enough of the intended range of meanings for me >> As a perma-culturist I immediately jumped on "cultivating". Especially since >> I have not yet used it in this sense. But it also has its unwanted >> connotations of course. e.g. "beeing non-cultivated" is a distinction that >> may be used/perceived as pejorative/as a part of a power-game >> >> So thank you all, who contributed to this discussion until now: finding more >> words that may be appropriate under specific conditions is what I could >> realistically expect. And I got it >> >> Bernd >> >> >> On Feb 26, 2012, at 7:26 PM, Artur Silva wrote: >> >> Nurturing (from Lisa)? >> >> Inviting (from Suzanne)? >> >> Cultivating (in a sense similar to "cultivating the land")? >> >> Artur >> >> ________________________________ >> From: Bernhard Weber <web...@gmx.at> >> To: OSLIST New Adress <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> >> Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2012 6:53 AM >> Subject: [OSList] A new term for 'facilitation'? was: Teach Them to Fish / A >> Note to My Friends >> >> >> Hi again >> >> The last years I was again and again discussing adequate wording of our >> "interventions" as consultants, facilitators (in German: ModeratorInnen, >> BegleiterInnen), trainers... >> With myself and others. >> >> There was the classical "Change Management" (Consultancy) which we >> substituted by Change Facilitators, mainly because it had become evident, >> that you can not "manage" change (at least not in the classical sense of >> management, which has (the possibility) of control at its core. >> >> Of course "facilitate" has a connotation of "making things easy" which is >> not necessarily what I understand by facilitating. Let me go back to the >> teacherlearner example: sometimes there was more learning happening when I >> did not make things easier, sometimes I was building barriers for my >> students. >> >> For me "facilitating" (in contrast to "helping") has a lot to do with >> systemic perception/action: finding a good setting, trying to find ways of >> improving the conditions of learning, indirect interventions but also >> breaking down the walls between classical "training/learning" and "(group >> work) facilitation" by contributing to learning whilst problem-solving or, >> more positively, whilst "solution inquiring", with a longer term perspective >> of "capacity building" (in its complex dynamics between >> persons/groups/organizations/environment alias micro/makro). >> >> In that sense I could use the word "facilitation" to make clear that I was >> not speaking of old approaches and that we should not go back from a >> systematic systemic perspective. This also gave me a good feeling of beeing >> "progressive", although or because it was clear that I had squeezed in a lot >> into this 'innocent word' >> And the term 'facilitation' made quite some carreer (especially outside of >> the english-speaking world as a 'foreign word'. >> >> >> But maybe it is time to look for a better word in the sense of the aspects >> that are emerging during this "Fishing Discussion". >> I can understand why you avoided the word 'to facilitate' but a wording like >> 'helping to learn' does not seem to be a step forward, to the contrary. Both >> wordings evidently need a lot of explanation about "in the sense of...." And >> for me this is an indicator that we should perhaps look out for another >> wording, .... >> >> That includes (or is able to include) what I have uttered in my previous >> postings to that thread, and much of what others have contributed here, >> especially that term should be able to include also "Learning the art of >> silence seems to be much more rewarding for both for there's no Godot with >> fish in hands." (Stanley Park) and also "hat the facilitator should not be >> the 'catalyst' or 'interventionist' but more the 'nutritionist'" and "our >> roles before the event, during and afterwards" and the role of "'conscious >> non-interventionist'" (Lisa Heft), the >> empowerment/dis-empowerment-contradiction and the 'sequence ... Fish >> Distributors, Fishing Teachers, and then “Gone fish ‘in” – looking for other >> fish to fry'(HO), not forgetting that we have to care that 'nobody pollutes >> the environment in the meantime and that there is still fish to fish.... >> (Joanne)... >> >> and - whilst again using such heavy loaded wording - never forgetting that >> the base self-organization in its non-logic/Yin-Yang/dialectical movements, >> the last term allowing us, to never reduce ourselves to the either/or >> thinking (so, eg. depending on the context to also be catalyst, >> interventionist and nutritionist and e.g. also understanding the sequence >> Fish Distributor, Fishing Teachers, ... Fishing-Zen (Diane G.) >> masters/students.... not necessarily as a step-after-step-sequence but >> consisting of aspects to phase in, be 'dominant' phase out, the 'sequence' >> beeing parallel and interdependent processes like as 'overlapping threads' >> of changing intensity. >> >> Well, reading over my own text once again, I get the impression, that it is >> not possible to find such a Superword, but playing around, looking out for a >> new and better word might be fun. In fact that is, what we are implicitely >> ALSO doing here all the time right now in this list. >> >> Hmm. maybe we have to change the context. >> >> I do not know. Any ideas? >> >> Bernd >> >> >> P.S. regarding the "nutricionist" role: Two year ago I experimented with >> that in a non-metaphorical sense: to contribute a discussion process of >> adequate change facilitation approaches in our Change Facilitation s.r.o. >> company I invited Rik Berbé (one of the other members of our company >> management team) to come to my home in Vienna/Austria for a two day >> workshop. Instead of preparing contents, methods, program etc. I prepared >> food and drinks, plenty of choices, healthy, not too heavy, .... (well the >> kind of snacks you would always like to have in a perfect OST event >> environment) and during our 2-person workshop I concentrated on two roles >> (participant and barman). We had a wonderful workshop and Rik who was at the >> beginning very amazed about such an approach agreed, that caring for the >> best possible environment in the sense of beeing a 'nutricionist' was a very >> useful role aspect I had contributed. >> Not only ;-) >> >> >> On Feb 25, 2012, at 11:46 PM, Artur Silva wrote: >> >> Yes, Bernardo, you are right. Sometimes one must give the fish, teach to >> fish and also help learning how to learn. >> >> You are also right that this "to help to learnr" is indeed "to facilitate". >> I avoided the term because quite often - as HO mentioned - many people think >> (and do) "facilitate too much", disempowering the other and making more >> difficult for him to learn by himself. >> >> And your story in Mozambique (Beira) is marvelous. >> >> Abraço >> >> Artur >> >> ________________________________ >> From: Bernhard Weber <web...@gmx.at> >> To: Artur Silva <arturfsi...@yahoo.com>; World wide Open Space Technology >> email list <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> >> Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2012 4:43 AM >> Subject: Re: [OSList] Teach Them to Fish / A Note to My Friends >> >> Yes Artur, >> >> based on my own life and working experience, meanwhile most of it in >> Ex-colonized countries, our job is, to HELP (I would meanwhile formulate it >> in a more systemic-adequate way: FACILITATE) to learn, to learn how to learn >> (as a way of being) and - though inicially accepting the Teacher-Student >> "Übertragung" (S. Freud, that means also: including the Gegen-Übertragung)- >> learn how to disappear. >> >> Only one thing. Let us not be put into a perception and thinking limiting >> TRANCE by strictly following logic thinking. That means there are times, >> when the logical either/or is simply not the best solution or even not >> human. So there may be cases where we give the fish AND teach to fish. Or >> give the fish under conditions that fishing is learned. >> >> I still remember the blind beggars in Beira, who got only money from me if >> they accepted to go to the training center for blind people and look if they >> would not be interested to be trained for a job there. >> >> >> Bernardo >> >> >> On Feb 24, 2012, at 6:49 PM, Artur Silva wrote: >> >> Amen for almost everything! And thank you, Harrison, for reminding us of all >> this. >> >> (...) >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org > To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org _______________________________________________ OSList mailing list To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org