Add mc - buddhist+Hosting
add a primary image (only if there is none)
Image Ideas
person present serving food
table with snacks and drinks on it
inn or tavern sign hanging over the road
someone fluffing up pillows
flowers on different tables (like in world cafe)
bed being made
someone laying out world cafe set up
Heart
Help the session feel like home. Making a place and arrangements comfortable for everyone supports accomplishment of the group's work. Attend to the well-being of each person and the whole.
Description
To offer our attention to the tasks that a session is convened to address, our basic needs for well-being need to be met first. This is most obvious on a physical level, details like comfortable seating (and at an event lasting more than one day, places to sleep nearby), nourishing food to eat, a setting quiet enough to hear each other without straining, natural light, and so on. On a deeper level, being well hosted also means fostering a sense of belonging, helping each person present feel cared for as an individual.
Examples of ways to do this include:
- taking the time to connect on a personal level before diving into business
- meeting in a location with easy access to the outdoors
- having snacks available
- taking an occasional break for a fun activity, or better yet integrating lively, fun activities into the work at hand
The essence of hosting is personal, not institutional. It means offering a generous spirit in response to the varied needs for hospitality that each participant brings. This often starts with asking people in advance about persnickety items like food allergies, and who snores too loud to have a roommate. Then if something unforeseen arises, we hope that a host can meet it with gracious accommodation and as little fuss as possible. A calm, low-stress attitude makes the difference between participants getting distracted with feeling annoyed (if their needs aren't met) or embarrassed (if their needs are met but it seemed like a big inconvenience to the person meeting them) vs. being able to peacefully settle into whatever they are supposed to be focusing on.
Hosting includes taking care of practical considerations, such as...
- Blank spaces: Make sure there is wall space or other space if you have objects that participants will be working with, or are doing graphic facilitation/recording. If there isn't enough space on the walls you can make up for it with several easels.
- Technology: Network connectivity (wifi), when you want it or need it, but not if it will be a distraction. If computers are called for, make sure there are sufficient power outlets / extension cords. Extra computers for those who won't have one? Will you want printers or projectors, and do you have any necessary cables and adapters?
The term Hosting is also sometimes used much more broadly (in the World Café and Art of Hosting, for example) to refer to a softer and more integrated way of facilitating. Another word often used in this context is Convening.
Cautions & Caveats
As with any of the more personal, high contact patterns, something to be careful about with hosting is to strive for cultural sensitivity. Depending on the country and subculture, a welcome may or may not include a hug, for example.
Examples
The World Café method, more than most others, places great emphasis on physical set-up and creating a cozy atmosphere; "Create a Hospitable Space" is one of their core principles. This is typically done by making the physical space attractive with artwork, plants, or table settings; putting out check tablecoths on all the small group tables; playing nice background music; and other means.
Related patterns
Hosting points primarily to:
How Related
Other patterns Hosting also points to (secondarily):
Patterns that point primarily back at Hosting
How Related
Other patterns that also point back at Hosting (reverse secondaries):
Category and tags
Resources
Powers of Place initiative focuses on the alive relationship between people and places, including a Placebook of inspiring retreat centers.
The Art of Hosting is more about facilitation than hospitality, but it does include the importance of relationship and human connection in establishing a container to work together.
Other
Add +other
Stage
Personal Stories about Hosting
Each card listed here has at least one relevant story. Add your own stories in Anonymous+Personal Stories.
Synonymous with Creating a Container?
--John Abbe.....Wed May 05 11:17:01 -0700 2010
I think the difference between them is more clear now that this pattern has been filled out more. Creating a Container as we've defined it is more about facilitation skills, whereas hosting is getting the physical set-up right plus a sense of gracious hospitality toward participants.
--Tree Bressen.....Thu May 06 16:41:52 -0700 2010
I made some additions, based on the way World Cafe and Art of Hosting use the word, which goes beyond the way it was being described in what I think are important ways.
Amy Lenzo Friday May 7th
In the Art of Hosting community of practice we often use the term hosting to refer to facilitating from within the field, using it to make a clear distinction between working with a living systems world view. It's not necessarily a "softer" approach, but rather is a more sensitive approach I think. In other words, the word "hosting" is used to heighten the awareness of the myriad of dynamics that are present in a container and a field.
Hosting is also a leadership stance and can scale up from the level of an individual table host in a cafe to a team of people hosting transformatio nwithin a system. We are looking for scalable practices that work for this form of leadership currently.
--Chris Corrigan (Not signed in).....Fri Jul 16 12:55:10 -0700 2010
I just added a bunch to the description here, some of which I removed from Aesthetics of Space (they had nothing to do with aesthetics). I considered making the additions to Power of Place but that seems to be primarily about *selecting* a place, so even if it broadens Hosting a bit they seemed to fit best here.
--John Abbe.....Tue Dec 28 13:28:14 -0800 2010
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