On this page, you’ll find 2 short audio clips about ‘givens’. Recorded in 2004, Birgitt Williams was being interviewed in an organization that was making frequent use of both meeting facilitation methods Open Space Technology and Whole Person Process Facilitation. Despite using these methods regularly, they were experiencing issues because they were not being clear enough with planning prior to a meeting. People’s expectations were rising too high, and people were feeling let down after the meeting that not all of their ideas got moved into action.
As you will hear in the recordings, Birgitt’s words were to be emphatic about the importance of planning, and being clear with the givens so that people could manage their expectations about what could get moved into action…before they put a lot of energy into topics that the President of the organization and the Board were not prepared to work with at the time.
- Audio 1: Creating the Givens (2:48) LISTEN HERE
When planning for a meeting, there are givens. It is important in the planning for every meeting to get the givens right and have them clearly stated for all participants. The focus of the givens for a meeting are “what you can expect to have happen with your inputs to the meeting”. - Audio 2: Creating the Givens Part 2 (0:55) LISTEN HERE
Meetings, particularly Open Space Technology meetings, are like a sled going down a hill. Once they start going, they are going where they are headed without stopping. Getting the givens right is about getting you on the right track on the right hill.