an online book by David Gurteen
I attribute the little I know to my not having been ashamed to ask for information, and to my rule of conversing with all descriptions of men on those topics that form their own peculiar professions and pursuits.
Credit: John Lock
In this chapter, I explain how to design a Knowledge Café.
If you are new to the Knowledge Café concept and wish first to learn how to run one, then go to the Knowledge Café Process chapter otherwise read on to find out how to design Cafés for different purposes.
Knowledge Café: Background Music ** Knowledge Café: Design Checklist Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter You should never run a Café for the sake of it. Every Café should start with a need. It should be designed for a specific purpose. I am often asked how you justify or make the case for running … Continue reading Introduction: Knowledge Café Design **
Introduction: Knowledge Café Design ** Knowledge Café: Purpose Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter A Knowledge Café should be planned rather than left to chance. The best way to accomplish this is to review and act on the design questions below. Several questions should be considered when designing a Knowledge Café before running it. … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Design Checklist Knowledge Cafés should be thoughtfully designed
Knowledge Café: Design Checklist Knowledge Café: Roles Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Every Knowledge Café should be designed for a specific purpose or intent. It’s not just about having learning conversations, although this is one of the primary uses. You start with the business purpose and design a Café to fulfill that aim. … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Purpose Every Knowledge Café should have a clear purpose
Knowledge Café: Purpose Knowledge Café: Duration Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter The participants in a Knowledge Café play several different roles. Not all of these roles are always needed, and the same person can play some roles. These are the roles: Café Owner The Café Owner is the person who has an issue or … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Roles There are a number of different Knowledge Café players
Knowledge Café: Roles Knowledge Café: Naming Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter The duration of a Knowledge Café is dependent on its purpose and the number of people involved. But more often than not it is limited by the time available. I have learned over the years that an ideal length is between 2 … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Duration A Knowledge Café can last from one to three hours
Knowledge Café: Duration Knowledge Café: Who to Invite Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter The term Knowledge Café is a generic name for a conversational method that has many variations. In this blook, I describe the way that I run a Knowledge Café, and I call this process the Gurteen Knowledge Café. I have … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Naming You don’t have to call it a Knowledge Café
Knowledge Café: Naming Knowledge Café: Invitation Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Who should we invite? People should never be coerced into participating in a Knowledge Café, and care should be exercised in deciding who to invite. Getting a mix of perspectives and people who feel passionate about the topic or issues to be discussed … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Who to Invite Who to invite and who not to invite
Knowledge Café: Who to Invite Knowledge Café: Number of Participants Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter One of the fundamental principles of the Knowledge Café is that no one is made to do anything they do not want to do, including being there! This principle is essential as people need to feel comfortable if … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Invitation People should not be coerced to participate in any way
Knowledge Café: Invitation Knowledge Café: Triggering the Conversation Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter The standard Knowledge Café process is designed to cater for between 12 and 24 people. For smaller or larger numbers it does not work so well for a number of reasons. For less than 12 people, certainly less than 9 … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Number of Participants The ideal number of participants is between 12 and 24
Knowledge Café: Number of Participants Knowledge Café: Setting the Context with Video ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter You may trigger or provoke Knowledge Café conversations in several ways depending on the purpose of the Café. In general, the process takes two parts: setting the context posing a powerful question. Setting the context A … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Triggering the Conversation There are a number of ways in which you can trigger the conversation
Knowledge Café: Triggering the Conversation Knowledge Café: Posing the Question Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter A powerful method to set the context for Café conversations is to use video. This can be done in a variety of ways. The topic/context can be set by showing a short video rather than having a speaker. The … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Setting the Context with Video ** A short video makes a good way to set the context for a Café conversation
Knowledge Café: Setting the Context with Video ** Knowledge Café: Small Group Design Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter The Knowledge Café conversation is triggered or provoked in one of several ways but in general consists of setting the context and posing a powerful question. Posts that link to this post Knowledge Café: the Speaker The … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Posing the Question To trigger the conversation
Knowledge Café: Posing the Question Knowledge Café: Large Group Design ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Over the years, in running my Knowledge Cafés, I have discovered through experimentation and observation that the ideal group size for interactive conversation is three or four people. Three or four people are ideal for small group … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Small Group Design The ideal small group size is three or four
Knowledge Café: Small Group Design Knowledge Café: Required Resources ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter The Knowledge Café works best for between twelve to twenty-four people though I have run Cafés for as few six people and as many as 80. For my regular public London Knowledge Cafés, I often get 50 to 60 … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Large Group Design ** The Knowledge Café works best for between twelve to twenty-four people
Knowledge Café: Large Group Design ** Knowledge Café: Conversational Topics Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter You do not need much in the way of resources to run a Knowledge Café. a venue where people can be comfortable and relaxed, with tables and chairs to seat 4 or 5 people per table, preferably with … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Required Resources ** You do not need a lot of resources to run a Café
Knowledge Café: Required Resources ** Knowledge Café: Measuring Success Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Knowledge Cafés should always start with a purpose in mind and be designed to meet that aim. The conversation is always triggered by a powerful question Often though, a series of Cafés may be held simply to bring people … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Conversational Topics Some examples
Knowledge Café: Conversational Topics Knowledge Café: Capturing Outcomes Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Measuring the success of a Knowledge Café is not easy. Measuring the success of a Knowledge Café is not easy. First, there is no single measure of the success of a Café. Second, there are no planned outcomes. Furthermore, the … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Measuring Success The outcomes are what you take away in your head – note taking is a distraction
Knowledge Café: Measuring Success Knowledge Café: Graphic Recording ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter The Knowledge Café is fundamentally about conversation. Its value lies in the quality of the conversations that take place. The actual outcomes are what people take away in their heads. The Dilemma Capturing the outcomes of a Café is often … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Capturing Outcomes The outcomes are what you take away in your head – note taking is a distraction
Knowledge Café: Capturing Outcomes Knowledge Café: Background Music ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Graphic recording is the real-time capture of a conversation by a graphic recorder who listens to a conversation and illustrates what they hear using pictures, words, and color. Graphic recording happens in real-time so you can see conversations as … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Graphic Recording ** Real-time capture of the Café conversations in pictures, words, and color
Knowledge Café: Graphic Recording ** Introduction: Knowledge Café Design ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Continue reading Knowledge Café: Background Music ** Don’t let background music detract from the conversations
