In ending a year that was so challenging for so many, I want to start this new one by expressing my appreciation for the many gifts I have received from the Art of Hosting community. (Art of Hosting is an international network of participatory practitioners that evolved alongside the World Café and other dialogue methodologies like Open Space, the Circle Way, etc.). Since it began, over 20 years ago, the Art of Hosting has focused its attention on what it is to host, going beyond methodology with practices that inform and enhance all forms.

Two Art of Hosting practices I have personally found extremely useful are the Fourfold Practice and the 8 Breaths of Process Architecture.

The Fourfold Practice is a holon* that holds within it the whole hosting experience – from hosting ourselves, to being hosted, hosting others, hosting together, and back again.

_{* A holon (Greek: ὅλον, from ὅλος, holos, ‘whole’ and -ον, -on, ‘part’) is something that is simultaneously a whole in and of itself, as well as a part of a larger whole.}

The four “folds” of this practice are worlds unto themselves, each unfolding into the next. 

It’s a beautiful design that conveys a simple, profound and essential truth: becoming a host is not just about the obvious, i.e. hosting others. It’s crucial that we also live into hosting ourselves; know what it is to be hosted; and – perhaps the least understood practice in this quartet – learn to host together, in community.  

In guiding new World Cafe hosts through the official Hosting Fundamentals course, I find the Fourfold Practice to be invaluable preparation for the “inner life” of hosting, which is every bit as important as understanding the depth, nuance, and beauty of the World Cafe format itself. 

In my overviews, I expand the first fold – Host Yourself – to include not only physical and mental preparation but also the social and emotional work of hosting change. For me that means going beyond self-care practices like meditation, fresh air, time in nature, getting enough sleep, eating well, etc. to developing a practice of self-reflection; always questioning our assumptions and unconscious bias, informing ourselves about experienced reality in different social contexts, etc. 

There is this type of depth in each of the four folds when we focus on them, and of course I can only touch the surface of the Fourfold Practice here, but I hope I have been able to convey what a powerful gift it is for World Cafe, and all hosting practice.

The 8 Breaths of Process Architecture is another vital element in a host’s toolset, offering a sophisticated understanding of the shape of process itself.

Building on the work of Sam Kaner and his Diamond of Participation, which describes the phases of participatory decision making, the Art of Hosting’s 8 Breaths model goes further to reveal the deeper essential pattern underlying any participatory group process. In it, a series of natural “breath in, breath out” movements form a sequence that both keeps us aware of each moment and of where we are in the sequence.

I’ll never forget the sense of liberation I felt when I was first introduced to this practice. I was supposed to be offering a Master Class in World Café hosting to a group of participatory practice hosts at the European Commission, and I had carefully planned a whole program for them. When I got there, however, I found myself working with an unexpectedly large hosting team of strangers who essentially threw my plans out the window. 

Understanding the process pattern (and where we were in it) eased my anxiety in the midst of the infamous “groan zone”, transforming my attitude from frustration to patience as I was able to clearly see and experience each Breath and make it through relatively unscathed.

The Art of Hosting training introduces these two practices as part of a broader program, but the training is only meant to be a beginning. This is work that takes time to grow into. 

I believe a real understanding of these two practices, in particular, hold fundamental keys for all hosts working today, and I want my students, and those who have taken the basic AoH training, to get the deeper dive they need to understand and apply these vital tools.

So I asked my friend (who happens to be a – very experienced – Art of Hosting Steward) Mary Alice Arthur to co-host an exploration into the intricacies of the Fourfold Practice and the 8 Breaths of Process Architecture with me. Thankfully, she said yes. 

We’ll be taking a full session to focus on each of these two practices in an upcoming series of four online sessions – Beyond Facilitation: Secrets of Extraordinary Hosting. The third session will reveal the extraordinary impact of integrating story principles into Mary Alice’s own hosting practice. The fourth will focus on a story-harvesting method she developed which has deep resonance and relevance to the art of “harvesting”, aka collective meaning-making, in all group interactions.

I’m beyond excited to be working with Mary Alice Arthur on this. She is an excellent host and skilled guide, and I believe the course will offer invaluable support for hosts of all participatory practices, equipping us with the skills and approaches needed to confidently hold the space of “emergence” that is at the heart of all meaningful engagement.

If this invitation calls to you, too, I hope you will join us.

The sessions can all be done individually
or as a whole series (which I heartily recommend)