that conversations event
A few weeks ago the very first conversations event was hosted in a pub in Toronto, Canada. The plan is to roll these out in various places around the world. Here’s how the event goes.
Attendees buy a ticket for two people and turn up with a friend, family member or partner. They’re then sat in a relaxed and informal environment with someone they know. Among the attendees at the first event were a married couple of 40+ years, a mother and daughter, and someone taking their friend out for their birthday.
The purpose is for people to deepen their connection with the person they attend with, by engaging in a couple of intentional conversation activities.
Activity #1: swapping affirmations
Attendees are handed a conversation prompt card with a description and instructions for the activity.
For the first activity, everyone is given three minutes to think about and jot down three words they’d use to describe the person they’re with. It’s not about nailing the ‘perfect’ three words — it’s a subjective exercise that will depend on the day, and more than three words are likely to come to mind.
Once the three minutes are up, the timer is reset and attendees then have ten minutes to swap those words with each other. They decide who goes first (by Rock, Paper, Scissors if necessary) and then trade one word at a time, accompanied by an explanation as to why that word came to mind.
After those ten minutes are up, people are invited to share how it went with the group. Common reflections heard include the pleasant experience of receiving compliments, and being unaware that their friend/family member/partner thought of them in a certain way.
There’s a short break, before getting into the second activity.
Activity #2: a trip down memory lane
Again, attendees are handed a conversation prompt card with a description and instructions for the activity.
For the second activity, everyone is given three minutes to write down some experiences and memories that come to mind when they think of the person they’re attending with. The memories can be as broad or as specific as people like.
To help, attendees are prompted to consider the first time they met, and some of the most significant moments in their relationship. Times they laugh, cried, and shared in experiences together. It doesn’t have to be that everything was meaningful to the connection. It’s time for the fun, silly, obscure in jokes and stories to come to the fore.
Once the three minutes are up, the timer is reset and attendees then have twenty minutes to go back and forth between their lists and chat about what they’ve written down. Starting with first time they met, then going wherever from there. Other things are likely to spring to mind while they’re talking, which is great. The idea isn’t to necessarily tick everything off the lists, it’s about seeing where the conversation takes them.
The second activity tends to bring out a lot of laughter. Similar to the first activity, attendees are invited to share reflections on how it went for them. A common theme is how interesting it is that different memories can hold significance for each person in the relationship.
In closing the event, it’s noted that the hope is that people go away and want to do the activities again with other people in their life, whether at a future conversations event or in their own time.
A conversations event where you are?
The plan now is to find people to host a conversations event in cities, towns and villages throughout the world. You’d arrange the venue, we’d manage the admin and send you the materials, you’d keep the ticket money minus organising costs.
If interested, reach out via our Instagram or email us.
Otherwise, feel free to check outour upcoming events or find out about the broader conversations movement.
