Lesson 8:World Cafe and its Purpose

by Therese Ong

World Cafe is a participative process which enables people to have creative conversations while sitting cafe-style around small tables. Paper table cloths are often used so that the ideas and issues which emerge from the conversations can be recorded. After about 20-30 minutes, people move to a new table and the conversation continues. One member of the initial group will remain at the table to host the new conversation and help to build links between the different strands. Three rounds are usual.

The seven design principles of World Cafe are:

-set the context
-create hospitable space
-explore questions that matter
-encourage everyone's contribution
-cross pollinate and connect diverse perspectives
-listen together for patterns, insights, and deeper questions
-harvest and share collective discoveries

So what happens in World Cafe? The environment is set up like a cafe, with tables for four, tablecloths covered by paper tablecloths, flowers, some colored pens and, if possible, candles, quiet music and refreshments. People sit four to a table and have a series of conversational rounds lasting from 20 to 45 minutes about one or more questions which are personally meaningful to them. At the end of each round, one person remains at each table as the host, while each of the other three travel to separate tables. Table hosts welcome newcomers to their tables and share the essence of that table's conversation so far. The newcomers relate any conversational threads which they are carrying, and then the conversation continues, deepening as the round progresses. At the end of the second round, participants return to their original table, or move on to other tables for one or more additional rounds, depending on the design of the cafe. In subsequent rounds they may explore a new question or go deeper into the original one. After three or more rounds, the whole group gathers to share and explore emerging themes, insights, and learning, which are captured on flip charts or other means for making the collective intelligence of the whole group visible to everyone so they can reflect on what is emerging in the room. At this point the cafe may end or it may begin further rounds of conversational exploration and inquiry.

In World Cafe, the formulation of powerful questions is a fundamental art and skill. Questions like "What's important to you about this situation, and why do you care?" and "What are we not seeing that is vital to our progress?" can open up new possibilities and energy. If you don't know what questions are right for a particular cafe, you can ask as a first round question "What question, if answered, could make the greatest difference to the future of the situation we're exploring here?"

http://www.theworldcafe.com/what.htm