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 conversations in a Knowledge Café.
Depending on the number of individuals participating in a Café and the availability of suitable sized tables, it is not always possible to have three or four people at a table. In this case, five people are OK, but no more.
Anything more than five and the conversation does not work so well: one or two people tend to dominate; the conversation breaks into two, even three; frequently, one person is totally cut out of the interaction, and there is little energy in the group.
To have a good conversation, you need to be within touching distance of each other, and each person in the group needs to be equidistant.
If the availability of suitable-sized tables is a problem, then the Café can be run without tables.
Research into the influence of group size on conversation confirms this ideal group size.
These two settings are ideal:
Posts that link to this post
- The Differences Between the Knowledge Café and the World Café There are some significant differences
- Introduction: Knowledge Café Applications The Knowledge Café is as much a state of mind as it is a fixed process
- The Case of the Vanishing Café Participants Challenges from a virtual Knowledge Café
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