Architects Get Talking at Oregon Conference

The following article appeared in the June newsletter of the Conversation Cafe, an important dialogue initiative I’m involved with. If you were there, and even if you weren’t, I’d love to hear what you thought about this dialogue process

Case Study: Architects Get Talking at Oregon Design Conference

By Leif Utne

The classic Conversation Cafe — a small group gathered weekly at the neighborhood coffee shop or in a host’s living room — is just one way to use this powerful dialogue method. The CC process is a useful tool to get just about any group of people in any community or organization to go deep quickly. We frequently hear reports from hosts who use it in schools, conferences, churches, and workplaces. But I, personally, had never had such an opportunity until recently.

Audio: Vicki Robin on the Art of Hosting

What is a host? Whether at a party, in the grocery aisle, or at a Conversation Cafe, a host is the person who creates and holds the space for dialogue, who asks probing questions, and listens intently for the answers. In this 12-minute podcast Vicki Robin discusses the all-important role of the host.