How to Throw an Intellectual Salon
It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing — Gertrude Stein
My personal obsession with intellectual salons began while reading A Moveable Feast, by Hemingway. In it, he talks about time spent at Gertrude Stein’s 27 Rue de Fluerus in Paris, where she gathered the “Lost Generation” of poets, writers, painters, sculptors, and political firebrands. She really had the gold standard of guests — Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse, James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Hemingway among them. To have a piece of your art displayed there was a validation of your place among the most relevant artists of the time. A standing invitation to attend was the equivalent of inclusion on a modern day “who’s who” list.
These multidisciplinary gatherings offer people exposure to new ideas, powerful questions, and learning outside of the confines of classroom education. They inspire. They ask big questions.
Thought leader salons were the best part of my job at the X PRIZE Foundation. Unlike the “sage on the stage” model of learning, they provide dynamic interactivity, passionate debate, as well as a variety of perspectives and approaches. Later, when I first moved to downtown Vegas, I held weekly salons with seven Venture for America fellows, and we discussed some really weighty topics (purpose, ethics, death, etc.). I always learned so much from these fresh from undergrad attendees, including how differently people view things, and how reasonable some of the arguments for opposing beliefs can be. These discussions can be such powerful tools in removing the barriers between us — especially if you invite people to share personal stories and create a sense of trust and acceptance of vulnerability.
This kind of open discourse is essential to the future of learning (and, arguably, politics). If you’ve never held a salon discussion, I highly recommend you do so. Below is a list of suggestions I’ve compiled to make your Salon a success. The suggestions are sort of a hybrid between an intellectual salon and a Jeffersonian Dinner, which is more focused on driving building a community around a particular cause.
My biggest piece of advice is to make them feel elevated and special. You can do this by:
- inviting special guests (ideally experts on the topic)
- starting the session with a poem, music, or a story — something that feels creative and inspiring (I really can’t stress enough the inclusion of something less intellectual and more creative)
- creating a special atmosphere for the senses — scents, sights, sounds
- not making the topic too literal (e.g. instead of the topic being about ‘improving productivity,’ try ‘elevating human consciousness’).
- not forcing innovation to happen in the sessions — instead let the sessions foster the inspiration that will lead to innovation afterward (you can always organize follow ups around that, but keep the salons as a treat rather than a chore)
- having everyone prepare in advance, by reading an article or a book or watch a video
- initially making it exclusive so that people will do the work beforehand because they feel it is a special opportunity
- ensuring the quality of attendees by making them complete a mandatory related assignment in advance
- avoiding individual conversations — all talking is with the entire group
- including ideally between 6–8 people, although you can probably squeeze in 10
- holding them in an informal space and/or interesting space — think living room above board room and studio above office
- having people submit ideas for topics
- selecting a different person to “host” each time, so that all the work doesn’t fall on a single set of shoulders, and you get diversity of experiences
- having the host encourage participation from everyone by asking direct questions to those who are more quiet. I found that the quiet ones frequently had the best insights, but can easily be overwhelmed by the talkers. Simple questions like — “Bev, what do you think about that?” or “what is your take on this?” can go a long way
- naming the salons and having one person make a couple notes afterward about the topics and key insights
- injecting ritual into them — pay homage to history. You can do this by starting each session with something, or by having people bring a particular item, or sharing a drink, etc. etc.
- giving people something new — like having the lights off, or wearing something thematic, or holding it in a bedroom, or a warehouse, or a kitchen
- considering whether it makes sense to introduce some optional supplemental classes on debate or logic (skills that would make for more dynamic discussions)
- starting off the session with two people presenting alternate angles of a topic to inspire a lively dialogue
- holding them at regular intervals
Pitfalls:
- having uneducated/unprepared/opinionated folks in the room
- one person stealing all the air time
- a space that is not the right size
