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YOU ARE THE BOSS. Hosting is not democratic, just like design isn’t. Structure helps good parties, like restrictions help good design. Introduce people to each other A LOT. But take your time with it. Be generous. Very generous with food, wine, and with compliments/introductions. If you have a reception before people sit, make sure there are some s
... See morePriya Parker • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
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Does it stick its neck out a little bit? Does it take a stand? Is it willing to unsettle some of the guests (or maybe the host)? Does it refuse to be everything to everyone?
Priya Parker • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
Your opening needs to be a kind of pleasant shock therapy. It should grab people. And in grabbing them, it should both awe the guests and honor them. It must plant in them the paradoxical feeling of being totally welcomed and deeply grateful to be there.
Priya Parker • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
Sometimes the key to safely bringing in generous heat is to identify the hot spots in a group and then simply organize the conversation around them, protected by some ground rules.
Priya Parker • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
You should, for starters, seek a setting that embodies the reason for your convening. When a place embodies an idea, it brings a person’s body and whole being into the experience, not only their minds.
Priya Parker • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
I invited each one to share two phrases they had written down.
Priya Parker • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
SPROUT SPEECHES, NOT STUMP SPEECHES
Priya Parker • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
Uniqueness is another ingredient. How is this meeting or dinner or conference unique among the other meetings, dinners, and conferences you will host this year?