W+iD PGH Gathering Makeover

6:00 PM: Welcome + Pop-Up Rules

6:00 - 6:15 PM: Order Beverages + Snacks

6:15 PM: Intentional Large Group Introductions

Refer to Box 1

6:30 PM: Purposeful Small Group Breakouts

Discuss past event (photo you brought along) and your future event (worksheet)

7:00 - 7:30 PM: Regroup + Meaningful Mingling

Redesign your next gathering based on the principles from Priya Parker's The Art of Gathering and her Guide to Planning with Purpose. Date

Refer to Box 2

7:30 PM: Closing Reflections

When you introduce yourself, please answer one of the following prompts:

B O X 1

Describe a successful (or unsuccessful) gathering you have attended or hosted. Has there ever been a time when you didn’t want to invite someone to a gathering you were organizing, like a meeting or a wedding, but felt like you had no choice? Like Parker says, sometimes a good controversy can be a positive thing Have you ever brought some spice or witnessed how conflict can invigorate a gathering?

While mingling, discuss your worksheet and any of the following prompts: B O X 2

A good host practices generous authority Generous authority is the use of your power for the good of the group to help it do its work. How will you use your authority as a host moving forward?

Every gathering contains a social contract within it, whether implicit or explicit Know what yours is and help the guests decide if they want to be part of it How will you prime your guests to set them and the gathering up for success

Reflecting on Pandemic Era Inventions: What did we learn, create, or try anew during the pandemic that we want to bring with us (or leave behind)?

“Gatherings crackle and flourish when real thought goes into them, when structure is baked into them, and when a host has the curiosity, willingness, and generosity of spirit to try.”

- Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering

W+iD PGH Gathering Makeover

Redesign your next gathering based on the principles from Priya Parker's The Art of Gathering and her Guide to Planning with Purpose.

Your Gathering Category

Team meeting, client dinner, baby shower?

Identify Your Purpose

Explore your reason for bringing people together. Identify a specific, unique, disputable why rather than just the party’s category.

Make Purpose Your Bouncer: Let your purpose guide your approach to your guest list Will your party thrive from generous exclusion or over-inclusion? Consider your purposeful guest list

Design Your Invitation To Persuade: How can you use storytelling to draw your guests into your gathering? The invitation is a proposed temporary, voluntary social contract: Here’s what I'm asking of you. Sound good? You in?

Create an Alternative World: Identify a pop-up rule to help your guests be more present or avoid unhelpful group tendencies that can distract from your purpose. In a world of infinite choices, choosing one thing is the revolutionary act. And imposing that restriction can be quite liberating.

What would your next networking event look like if you couldn’t disclose what you do for a living? How would the energy change in the next “mom’s night” if parents were playfully penalized for talking about their kids?

Where might the dinner party conversation go if everyone had an incentive to keep their phone out of sight for the night?

Brainstorm a few pop-up rules of your own to experiment with for your next gathering to help others be more present

Close with Intention: What’s one thing you can do to close this gathering and make it memorable? Your gathering doesn’t need to end with a grand closing speech, you could simply