Open Space Technology

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Enable a group to build its own agenda in real time and address self-selected topics without top-down scheduling.

Use it when: Use when facing a complex challenge or open transition where participants bring varied priorities and need to self-direct their work.

Skip it when: Skip when the meeting agenda, decisions, or action steps are already fixed and cannot be altered by the room.

Group arrangement: Whole group opening circle, self-selected breakout clusters of 2 to 8 people, and whole group reconvening.

Timing: Supplied sources state a 90-minute minimum up to multi-day formats; this plan specifies the standard 90-minute short form.

Materials and tools

• Chairs arranged in a circle without tables
• 1 roll of painter tape
• 1 pack of thick chisel-tip markers
• 30 sheets of letter-size paper or large index cards for topic posting
• 1 large blank wall, tapestry paper, or whiteboard partitioned into a grid of time slots and breakout spaces
• 5 printed session report templates (one per breakout area)
• 1 digital camera, tablet, or shared document tool to compile proceedings

Before participants arrive

1. Arrange chairs in an open circle with no central tables.
2. Construct a large agenda matrix on a wall with columns for available spaces (for example, Space A, Space B, Space C) and rows for discussion rounds (for example, Round 1 and Round 2).
3. Place markers and blank topic sheets in the center of the circle on the floor or on a low table.

Say this to open

Welcome. Today we have a shared challenge, but no pre-set agenda. You will build the schedule right now. If there is an issue or opportunity you care about, write the title in large letters on a sheet, announce it to the circle, and tape it onto an open time and space slot on the agenda wall. You do not need to be an expert to post a topic; you only need to care about it and be willing to convene the conversation. Participation follows the Law of Mobility: go to any session you wish, but if you find you are neither learning nor contributing, use your feet or your mouse to move somewhere else. Let us begin by opening the marketplace.

How to run it

1. Introduce principles and open the marketplace 15 minutes

   The facilitator introduces the focus challenge, explains the agenda grid, and defines the Law of Mobility. Participants who wish to host a conversation step forward, take a blank topic sheet and marker, write their topic clearly, announce it to the room, and tape it into an open slot on the agenda board. When no more topics emerge, invite everyone to walk to the wall, view the offerings, and decide where to go first.

2. Conduct breakout round 1 30 minutes

   Participants move to their chosen breakout spaces. The session convener starts the conversation and ensures someone completes the printed session report template. Anyone not learning or contributing may move to another group at any time. The facilitator stays out of the content and provides a 5-minute warning before the end of the round.

3. Conduct breakout round 2 30 minutes

   Groups clear the first round spaces. Participants move to their next chosen session topic from the marketplace grid. Conveners initiate the new topic and record notes on the session report template. The facilitator collects completed report sheets from round 1 and keeps them visible near the main board.

4. Reconvene and compile proceedings 15 minutes

   All participants return to the full circle. Session conveners post their completed report templates on a designated proceedings wall or submit them to the shared document. The facilitator invites three to four brief, unscripted reflections from volunteers about emergent themes or immediate commitments before closing the session.

Debrief questions

• What surprise or unexpected pattern emerged from the conversations you joined?
• What concrete next step are you prepared to take on one of the posted topics?

Finished output: A co-created agenda board and a set of completed session report forms compiled into a single shared proceedings document.

Remote

Use a main video room with breakout rooms labeled for each space. Replace the physical wall with a shared digital whiteboard containing a grid of breakout rooms and time rounds. Participants type their topic onto sticky notes in the grid, verbally announce them, and self-select into breakout rooms using open room selection. Each breakout uses a designated shared document page to log notes.

Hybrid

Place a laptop on a central cart in each in-person breakout space. In-person conveners post physical cards on the room wall while a co-facilitator mirrors them onto the digital whiteboard grid. Remote attendees assign themselves to equivalent virtual breakout rooms paired with in-person tables, with shared audio and a single online document for session reporting.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may choose to post a topic, attend sessions as silent observers, wander between groups, or sit quietly without hosting.
• Provide clipboards, seated writing surfaces, and digital entry options for participants who prefer typed input over handwritten cards.

If the session gets stuck

Nobody steps forward to post a topic during the marketplace opening.

Stand comfortably in silence for up to two minutes. If silence continues, remind the room that sessions can be simple questions, not polished presentations, or invite pairs to talk for one minute about what brought them today.

A breakout session has only one person present.

Remind the participant that writing solo notes or reflecting independently on that topic is fully valid, or they can use the Law of Mobility to join another session.

Terms used here

• Law of Mobility: The rule that participants must move to another space if they find they are neither learning nor contributing where they are.
• Marketplace: The central board where participants create and arrange the meeting agenda by posting session topics.