Art of Hosting

Based on the assumption that people give their energy and lend their resources to what matters most to them, in work as in life, the Art of Hosting blends a suite of powerful conversational processes to invite people to step in and take charge of the challenges facing them. It can be a powerful tool for activists and organizers to convene meaningful, empowering, and productive conversations, amongst themselves or in the communities they’re seeking to engage.

Groups and organizations using the Art of Hosting as a working practice report better decision making, more efficient and effective capacity building, and greater ability to quickly respond to opportunity, challenge, and change. People who experience the Art of Hosting typically say that they walk away feeling more empowered and able to help guide meetings and conversations towards more effective and desirable outcomes.

The Art of Hosting can be thought of as a group “operating system.”

In our work as creative activists, we’ve all participated in a meeting that feels like a waste of time, conversations that feel more like debates, and invitations to provide input that turn out to be something altogether different. People want to contribute, but they can’t see how. Some voices dominate, while others are barely heard. Or, we have a great conversation, but then struggle to summarize the key points or priority tasks arising from it. As leaders, we want the best contributions of everyone (see: PRINCIPLE: We are all leaders), but often don’t know how to get them. The Art of Hosting offers groups a number of collaborative methods that work well together — including Circle, World Cafe, Appreciative Inquiry, Open Space Technology, ProAction Cafe, storytelling and more — to address issues like these.

The Art of Hosting is being used by a variety of groups — families, organizations, governments — and in many sectors, including healthcare, education, human rights, youth, and justice, to name a few. It has been used to convene a collective and simultaneous conversation of over 10,000 people in cities across Israel/historic Palestine to talk about social justice; as a transformative container for wide collaboration within the European Commission and other EU institutions; for rethinking large and complex citywide systems in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.; and it serves as the underlying modus operandi at the permaculture demonstration village, Kufunda, in Ruwa, Zimbabwe.

As a practice, the Art of Hosting offers those who feel called to grapple with large issues both a framework and a practice that hones their skills, builds their capacity, and invites the participation of all. Because it can be used in conjunction with many other methodologies or practices, it can be thought of as a sort of “operating system” that focuses the group on effective and grounded communication.

Originally published in Beautiful Rising.