A post on the effective altruism forum (reviewing the book “The Art of Gathering”) actually has some bearing some on some of this, specifically re authority:
Quote below:
3. Don’t be a Chill Host
If you step back then other guests can fill the power vacuum with a different purpose than the one you intended
They may bore the guests with an hour long monologue on their favourite niche interests—this is “casual evening oppression”
Authority is an ongoing commitment, not just sending out invites and doing introductions—chill can be selfishness disguised as kindness
Does “talk to whoever you want” help the shy guest speak? Or should it be turn based?
Does open seating help newcomers or would seat placement be better
Generous authority uses power to achieve outcomes that are generous for others
Protect your guests—from each other, from boredom, from phones
The Alamo cinema kicks out viewers for using their phone, if they left enforcement to others it would likely make it a worse experience for the majority for the benefit of a few people who don’t care about the film
Audience questions for panel—good moderators are prepared to ask if an audience member can turn a statement into a question or to cut them off for the benefit of the majority
Anticipate and intercept peoples tendencies when they’re not considering the betterment of the whole group and experience
Equalise your guests—reduce hierarchy and status differences (whether real or perceived)
Use name tags with large first names and small/no last names
Leave talk about occupations out of conversations
Connect your quests—go from lots of host-guest connections to guest-guest connections provides each participant an opportunity for meaningful small group conversations
Hints on a card on arrival to find someone with a similar interest
Tell people you want them to make new friends
Tell people what they have in common
Short introductions with name, what they do, what they enjoy
Avoid ungenerous authority—bossing people around or tricking people
This can be common in institutional gatherings where predictability and structure is preferred, for example getting community leaders together in the White House and then subjecting them to 3 talks in a row rather than allowing them to connect with each other or spend time with the president in small group conversations
If you step back then other guests can fill the power vacuum with a different purpose than the one you intended
good moderators are prepared to ask if an audience member can turn a statement into a question or to cut them off for the benefit of the majority
This, so much!
By nature, I am completely “it’s unjust to have a master, and more so to be a master”, but experience has taught me that if I end up in a role of a boss, I have to play it, no matter how much I dislike it, because usually there is someone in the audience who loves the role and is waiting for the opportunity to grab it.
You try to share the power with the audience equally? Someone from the audience is going to take 80% of that share only for himself, unless you stop him. When you have a talk, it means people came to listen to you, not some overconfident rando from the crowd. (The rando can offer his own talk separately, at a different time or place.)
A post on the effective altruism forum (reviewing the book “The Art of Gathering”) actually has some bearing some on some of this, specifically re authority:
Quote below:
3. Don’t be a Chill Host
If you step back then other guests can fill the power vacuum with a different purpose than the one you intended
They may bore the guests with an hour long monologue on their favourite niche interests—this is “casual evening oppression”
Authority is an ongoing commitment, not just sending out invites and doing introductions—chill can be selfishness disguised as kindness
Does “talk to whoever you want” help the shy guest speak? Or should it be turn based?
Does open seating help newcomers or would seat placement be better
Generous authority uses power to achieve outcomes that are generous for others
Protect your guests—from each other, from boredom, from phones
The Alamo cinema kicks out viewers for using their phone, if they left enforcement to others it would likely make it a worse experience for the majority for the benefit of a few people who don’t care about the film
Audience questions for panel—good moderators are prepared to ask if an audience member can turn a statement into a question or to cut them off for the benefit of the majority
Anticipate and intercept peoples tendencies when they’re not considering the betterment of the whole group and experience
Equalise your guests—reduce hierarchy and status differences (whether real or perceived)
Use name tags with large first names and small/no last names
Leave talk about occupations out of conversations
Connect your quests—go from lots of host-guest connections to guest-guest connections provides each participant an opportunity for meaningful small group conversations
Hints on a card on arrival to find someone with a similar interest
Tell people you want them to make new friends
Tell people what they have in common
Short introductions with name, what they do, what they enjoy
Avoid ungenerous authority—bossing people around or tricking people
This can be common in institutional gatherings where predictability and structure is preferred, for example getting community leaders together in the White House and then subjecting them to 3 talks in a row rather than allowing them to connect with each other or spend time with the president in small group conversations
Avoid putting the host as the star of the event
This, so much!
By nature, I am completely “it’s unjust to have a master, and more so to be a master”, but experience has taught me that if I end up in a role of a boss, I have to play it, no matter how much I dislike it, because usually there is someone in the audience who loves the role and is waiting for the opportunity to grab it.
You try to share the power with the audience equally? Someone from the audience is going to take 80% of that share only for himself, unless you stop him. When you have a talk, it means people came to listen to you, not some overconfident rando from the crowd. (The rando can offer his own talk separately, at a different time or place.)