Whoever. Whenever. Whatever. It's Over.

The Four Principles that make Open Space Work

My elevator pitch on Open Space goes something like this:

“You know how regular conventions give you a program that tells you who’s going to talk, what they’re going to talk about, and exactly how long they’re going to let you think about it before they’ll stop talking?

Open space is the opposite of that. People show up, and we ask them “What do you want to talk about right now? How long do you need?” And then we give them that space.”

I’ve found it works pretty well, but some people still get a whiff of anarchy about it. One person put it politely: “So…it’s like a study hall?”

I hated study hall, so I hope not.

So the elevator pitch is still a work in progress, and meanwhile I can talk about the Four Principles that make the whole thing magic.

1. Whoever shows up are the right people.

There is no slate of presenters at an Open Space. Professionals who deal with ADHD folks might show up (I’d be surprised if they didn’t). Sometimes even Big Names show up - I’d be delighted if Jessica McCabe showed up arm-in-arm with Ned Hallowell!

But if they did, I’d emphasize to them that unlike the other conventions they speak at, in an Open Space they are not expected to do anything more (or less) than anyone else.

They can think of this as a vacation, or, if they prefer, an opportunity. Suddenly they have the chance to present on that weird topic that’s been in the back of their mind, or even (OMG!) just be participants at an event!

Meanwhile, people who have wanted a chance to present an idea or pose a question for the group get the opportunity in a cooperative, low-pressure and supportive environment.

2. Whenever it starts is the right time.

I started doing Open Spaces about fifteen years before I learned I had ADHD, so now I understand why this principle was always my favorite.

There will be a definite start time for the ADHDOS, probably 9 or 10am. That’s when everyone meets and plans the day’s agenda (more on that later). There will also be a closing circle, probably about 5pm, where we come together and close out the day.

Aside from that? There is no fixed schedule. There are 30 minute blocks set up across the top of the agenda wall — but those are guideposts, not rules. People are not forced to either fill or cut short their presentations to fit.

Instead, they guesstimate how long they think they’ll need, and they start their session when they are ready. If that’s the time they picked, cool — but if they’re immersed in some other conversation at that time, I let them decide what their priority is.

Want to start it later? Fine. Want to cancel it, or let it happen without you? Also fine. My job as a facilitator is simply to give them that choice, and let everyone else know about it. Usually that means a lot of shuffling taped pieces of paper and moving the “NOW-ish” sign.

It makes the day into a fluid, exciting, and unique learning environment.

3. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.

Remember how I said at the beginning there is no agenda?

There really is no agenda. So if no one decides to put up a session — nothing will happen.

Now, that’s never happened, in well over a hundred open space events. But it’s still worth reminding the attendees: they have a measure of responsibility that is different than most conferences.

It also means that if, after the open space, there is something you wish would have been discussed, covered, explored - you have no one to blame but yourself.

3. When it’s over, it’s over

This is the other half of that second principle.

Remember how those half-hour blocks are just guideposts? If a class topic takes 15 minutes to cover, take that 15 minutes and do something else. If it takes 5 minutes, it takes 5 minutes. We don’t ask you to fill time if you’re done.

If, on the other hand, a discussion needs 4 hours to adequately cover (which is rare, but has happened) then we make that time available. That’s another part of my job as a facilitator — you may need to move the session to a different place, but you can keep doing it until you decide it’s done.

This principle also reminds us that everything does have an end, including the availability of an open space location. We do call everyone together at the end of the time in the space to have a “closing circle.” Open space attendees discover that a day filled with people sharing things that matter personally and passionately can be exhausting. We take a very short time to celebrate the unexpected connections and new friendships.

Every Open Space is a unique combination of people, and a unique coming-together of knowledge and talents, that will never happen again. We choose to focus on the great and cool stuff that happens because of this, and not say “Damn, I wish such-and-such had happened!” In the end, it’s up to us. - the Author, somewhere at a past open space.

That’s the four principles. Tomorrow I’ll talk about the one dangerously addictive and immensely fun Law of Open Space.