Audience:

Who was the audience you worked with? Citizens in the Flathead Valley area
What group/organization? Humanities Montana
How many? 35
Why were they there (e.g. staff meeting, special training, common interest,…)

Goals:

What were the goals of the event/meeting? 
To further the ability of citizens and organizations in the Flathead Valley to use the Principles of Civil Dialogue.
 

Why were you asked to bring “Gracious Space?” 

Organizers see Gracious Space as a way to "give legs" to their previous work to create shared principles of civil dialogue. My mission was to give them the how to, tools, ways to apply.

Way in:

How much time did you have with the group?  6 hrs.
How did you introduce Gracious Space?  In two parts. First part in the a.m. was the basic training, four elements, with activities sprinkled in. Took 2 hours. Afternoon was application, having difficult conversations around two questions previously chosen by the Steering Committee.  I introduced Gracious Space as a tool to promote the common good, to have difficult conversations.
Why did you choose the way you did? This was a combination training and application. In the morning I set the framework, and they used the tools in the afternoon.

Outcomes:

Was Gracious Space accepted as you presented it or was their push back?  Accepted. Some good questions, such as "is gracious space like love, hard to define and you know it when you're in it?" that was a new one for me. I answered that probably, yes, but love, like gracious space, can also be a verb.
 
Did you get a sense that the people who brought you in were pleased with Gracious Space?  Very much. Several are considering how to use gr sp with their own work, and possibly having CEL come out to do a regional version of the 3-day training.
 
What are some of your personal reflections on this event, what worked, what would you try differently next time? I tried some new things this time that worked very well, such as presenting the four core elements in a definition (dimensions), stories, and application tools.  Happy to send the actual outline if anyone wants it.