Welcome to the World Café March 29, 2008

Café Conversations are an easy-to-use method for creating a living network of collaborative dialogue around questions that matter in service of the real work

CAFE MOVEMENTS 3 Rounds of Conversation at 3 Different Tables ~ 20 minutes each round Large Group Collective Harvesting ~ 30 minutes

Avril Orloff

Open Will Open Heart Open Mind LISTENING 2: from outside disconfirming [new] data © 2004 C.O. Scharmer Downloading habits of judgment reconfirming old opinions & judgments factual listening, noticing differences LISTENING 3: from within seeing through another persons eyes emotional connection empathic listening LISTENING 1: from habits LISTENING 4: from Source connecting to an emerging future whole; shift in identity and self generative listening (from the future wanting to emerge)

Questions are intrinsically related to action, they spark and direct attention, perception, energy and effort… Creativity requires asking genuine questions, those to which an answer is not already known. Questions function as open-handed invitations to creativity, calling forth that which doesnt yet exist. -Marilee Goldberg Adams The Art of the Question

Questions for Focusing Collective Attention on Your Situation What question, if answered, could make the most difference to the future of (your specific situation)? Whats important to you about (your specific situation) and why do you care? Whats our intention here? Whats the deeper purpose (the big why) that is really worthy of our best effort? What would someone who had a very different set of beliefs than we do say about (your specific situation)? pdf

Questions for Connecting Ideas and Finding Deeper Insight Whats taking shape? What are you hearing underneath the variety of opinions being expressed? Whats in the center of the table? Whats emerging here for you? What new connections are you making? What had real meaning for you from what youve heard? What surprised you? What challenged you? Whats missing from this picture so far? What is it were not seeing? What do we need more clarity about? pdf

Questions That Create Forward Movement What would it take to create change on this issue? Whats possible here and who cares? (rather than Whats wrong here and whos responsible?) If our success was completely guaranteed, what bold steps might we choose? How can we support each other in taking the next steps? What unique contribution can we each make? What conversation, if begun today, could ripple out in a way that created new possibilities for the future of (your situation)? pdf

Café Round 1: What question, if answered, could make the greatest difference to the future of the situation were exploring here?

Café Traveling Continuing the Conversation Choose one host to stay Others travel to new and separate tables Hosts welcome new people to the table Wait for whats next

Café Round 2: If there was one thing that hasnt yet been said but is needed in order to reach a deeper level of understanding, what would that be?

Café Traveling Continuing the Conversation Choose one host to stay Others travel to new and separate tables Hosts welcome new people to the table Wait for whats next

Café Round 3: What seed might we plant together today that would make the most difference to the future of our situation?

Large Group Sharing Based on your three rounds of conversation, what themes, patterns and insights are emerging? What were your important questions?

For resources and information see The images in this presentation are sourced from the World Café Creative Commons. Please cite this source if you use them in the future. Thank You Based on the work of Juanita Brown, David Isaacs and the World Café Community Graphics by Sherrin Bennett and Nancy Margulies Hosted by Donald Proffit, Northeast U.S. Region Steward 1700 Riverside Drive Trenton, NJ