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Art of harvesting real-time conversations

Submitted by George Por on June 24, 2006 - 16:04.

 

The Moving the Edge Covening Team had a closing phone meeting on June 20 I experienced it as a precious pearl in the necklace of transformative conversations I've been having with circles that are more and more in tune with and embodying the principles and conditions for Emergence.

That call inspired me to see what is missing, where can we move the edge now. A significant opportunity that I am sensing, and one that is very alive in my awareness, is connecting the local and global waves of resonance with the evolutionary impulse, so that resonance and coherence can build up in the larger field and, in turn, nourish the smaller ones.

One key part of that connecting is connecting the insightful highlights from small group conversations in real time with the ongoing, global “world café” (so to speak). That starts with respecting as much (or more) the field’s speaking to itself through our voices as we would do any enlightened being. I’m not saying here that we individually are all Buddhas (although we are) but that the circle when it’s connected with the magic of the middle has the qualities of great teachers sharing information from a higher consciousness.

Doesn’t that information deserves to be captured precisely so it can be shared with and benefiting those not present in the small group conversation?

What if what Finn and I said in the call (see below) had not only some metaphoric value but was literally true? From my perspective it is.

"I don't see my response as me responding to someone else, it's the field talking to the field. If I could always see my activity as the field responding to itself, maybe I would be more aware." (Finn)

"The field is listening to itself, wants to know itself through our speaking inspired by it." (George)
 
I felt very much inspired by Tina’s news about her academic work and the possibility that she will use it for bringing the issues of collaborative harvesting and meaning-making into focus. When it’s become more concrete, I’d love to be in a learning conversation with her and anybody else about these subjects.

Meanwhile, what can we do to free ourselves from the reliance on a talented note taker like Tom or Ria who cannot record their own words while speaking? That’s what I tried to respond in the description of a pattern called “Harvesting Conference Calls.”  Please read it and come back here to post your questions and comments.

hands free and several observations

Submitted by Sheri Madrone on June 25, 2006 - 01:51.

i very much appreciate this pattern and as a "documenter" and harvester of many a small gathering or circle or meeting, i am often a default person for "taking notes".  and on a practical note, i have several things that make it easier for me to do that:

1.  using skype or gizmo so i can be hands free and write and/or type notes on my computer.  i find using the old fashioned phone more and more difficult.  i find myself being able to be more present when on skype/gizmo and the sound quality through my headset is far superior than my phone.  i have also seen a friend's bluetooth wireless headset which allows for even more freedom from the device connecting us to the ether.  i find this a very important piece of social technology embedded in the technology.

2.  using a text chat function during the meeting so that the notes that are captured include not just the notes from one person but hopefully several others who have access to an internet connection during the call.  this allows for more "voices" to be captured and some diversity in the words being used...we can't always capture a perfect rendition of every word that was said because people speak so fast sometimes.  text chat is aka irc (internet relay chat).  an example we've used for various evolutionary salon calls has been www.easilyamazed.com/chat.  you log on and use this together to share notes and images.  it also allows for those who cannot participate on the call to perhaps participate through the computer internet interface.

3.  if the chat isn't an option easily, if someone agrees to be the primary note taker, there is someone else who agrees to "harvest" their words when they are speaking.

4.  of course, allowing for the beautiful silence that emerges between people talking brings out a pace that is easier to flow with.  just like john cage's powerful description of the silence between notes that make the quality of the notes even stronger, so this is true for when we speak and words flow from our bodies.  this practice does make it easier to harvest.

5.  mindfulness about sharing what emerges, no matter how rough, is an important piece in sharing it with the whole, the larger community.  i've seen situations where notes were taken and then never shared.  even with the smaller group who were present.  this "last step" is very important cause if we don't do that, what are the notes for then?  i've seen this with people taking notes in open space sessions.  to me this is part of the augmentation and acceleration of collective intelligence.

these are what are rising up at the moment,

sheri