Reimagining Community: Guide
Hosting and convening conversations in communities features two elements: the setup and the questions. This is a compilation we explore in “Reimagining Community.” We begin any community conversation by setting the table with 4 truths and 4 freedoms.
The 4 truths
When we listen from interest we are smarter together
People support what they help create
More ideas lead to better ideas
Everyone is the expert of their own life
The 4 freedoms
Feel free to listen from interest rather than judgment
Feel free to speak or pass
Feel free to say how you feel about anything
Feel free to say yes or no to any opportunity
Questions for vibrant communities
Here are 24 questions that have the power to invite new conversations that matter. They are conversational structures that optimize the thinking, engagement, and impact from the group. They have the power to shift communities from flat to vibrant. They are all designed for small groups of 4-6 people, given anywhere from 5-15 minutes for any question. We can use additional iterations of any question to deepen the conversation. Larger groups are shaped into multiple small groups.
When a group is working on something, having them post every single thing expressed on cards (onsite or visually) keeps them optimally creative, thoughtful, and collaborative. Feel free to use these questions to generate others to experiment with. Always use language that is most accessible to the people in the space. Language matters because every shift towards a more vibrant community is a shift in language.
Openings
What brought you here today?
What matters to you about this and why does that matter?
When it comes to the invitation, what are the conversations we should be having?
What do we want to be easier for people in the community?
Should anyone else be invited to this conversation?
Alignment
Going out as far into the future as you want — what would you love to see us make possible?
What would progress look like?
What small experiments can we try?
Who are the early adopters and how can we support them?
Who are the boundary-spanners and triangle closers and how can we support them?
What have we learned from this; what went well and why; what would we do differently in the future?
Puzzle progress
What it comes to this puzzle, what’s true and unclear?
What can we ask stakeholders about how they experience this puzzle?
How could we approach this as a both-and instead of either-or?
What could we do; what should we do; what will we do?
What about these ideas do you like and what questions do they raise?
Sense making
What gifts exist in the community that are and aren’t engaged?
What agreements do we want to propose, test, and share?
What are things people in this community do and might have in common?
What good things have you experienced and heard about?
Where are there exceptions of success?
Are we postponing anything we could do together because we’re waiting for more resources, permissions, consensus, or leadership?
Could any patterns of competition also include any kinds of collaboration?
What are you taking from this conversation?