Perhaps World Cafe is the most flexible of the mutual methods I’m covering in this sequence. I’ve found this can be the easiest to explain and to adapt to circumstances.
People meet around small tables. So groups of four to six people work best. Round tables are best and as there may be issues with noise levels, smaller tables are better.However, it is easy to worry too much about furniture. I’ve found I can usually manage with whatever is available.
It is easy to combine World Café with other types of participatory leadership. So, for example, follow a speaker with debate around tables.
Some Guidelines
The reason for the tables is people need to draw their ideas with pens and large sheets of paper. So Participatory Appraisal tools can be used. The 2 methods work well together. Depending on the time you have, you can at intervals move people around. Work out a method that leaves 1 person at the original table, who can explain the paperwork to newcomers, and split the rest around other tables. (I once managed to accidentally bring everyone back to their original table groups, so you need to be careful!) The next session begins with the person who stays explaining the thinking of the original group and then the others bring insights from their tables.
This works best, as do all participatory methods, where you have a clear question to discuss at the beginning. This is why a speaker may not be the best option as they’re liable to introduce too much information. The focus with all these methods is sharing of knowledge and experience.
Usually the session ends with some sort of plenary sharing, perhaps by pinning the papers to the walls. People can look at them over coffee and then share impressions and agree action steps. Notes can be produced and circulated to all participants.
The best text, written by the people who originated the method is “The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter” by Juanita Brown, David Isaacs, Cafe Community World and Margaret J. Wheatley. The World Café website summarises the method under “Useful Information” in the primary navigation.
