Knowledge Café: Small Group Conversations The small group conversations are the heart of the Café

Knowledge Café: Table Hosts

Knowledge Café: Moving Between Groups

In the Knowledge Café, the essence of the small group conversations is to get as close to a natural conversation as possible such as one in a coffee shop. 

In a Café, no one is in control of the conversation, no one typically takes notes, and to the highest degree, possible everyone is equal. The conversation naturally flows.

So the key philosophies behind the small group conversations are as follows:

• the groups should be no more than 3 or 4 people (at the most 5) in size (this is an ideal size that is back up by research
• everyone has an equal voice
• the quieter people should feel comfortable enough to open up
• the more dominating speakers should be sufficiently aware of their style to tone things down a little
• anything that gets in the way of the natural flow of the conversation should be eliminated or minimized

This translates into practice like this:

• there are no table leaders or hosts, and no one is asked to do anything different to anyone else
• no flip charts
• no paper and pens on the tables
• it is made clear that there will be no reporting back. In other words, no one will be put on the spot and called on to report back on behalf of their table
• a group note taker is only assigned where necessary
• individuals may take notes but should be encouraged either not to do so or
  keep note-taking to a minimum

The small group conversations are at the heart of a Knowledge Café and everything needs to be done to ensure the psychological safety of the participants and that the conversation flows freely.

Posts that link to this post

•  Knowledge Café in Zurich, Switzerland The Knowledge Café has empowered our staff to speak up and take the initiative
•  Gurteen Knowledge Café: Entrenched and Entrained Thinking A blog post by Conrad Taylor
•  Conversational Talks How to give a conversational talk or presentation
•  Knowledge Café: Cafés with No Tables Small tables are better than no tables
•  Knowledge Café: Going Off-topic It is OK to off-topic

POST NAVIGATION

Knowledge Café: Table Hosts

Knowledge Café: Moving Between Groups

CHAPTER NAVIGATION

Knowledge Café Principles

Knowledge Café Design

Close

Pop-up all Chapters

Tags: psychological safety (13) | small groups (23)

SEARCH