 World Café The World Café methodology is a simple, effective and flexible format for hosting large group dialogue, and it can be tailored in many ways, but the fundamentals of the approach are as follows. Firstly, create an environment to encourage discussion. It's usually modelled after a café, hence the name, with round tables covered in paper tablecloths, and about four or five chairs per table. Then, begin by welcoming everyone, briefly explaining the process and any ground rules, as well as the overall theme or purpose of the event. Put people at ease and set them up for success. The process really begins with the first of three, or perhaps more, 20 minute rounds of conversation for the small groups seated around the tables. You can make notes directly onto the tablecloth, or separately. Then at the end of the 20 minutes, people move to a different table, often, but not always, leaving one person behind as the table host for the next round. They can welcome the next group and briefly fill them in on what happened in the previous round. Each of these rounds is prefaced with a question specially crafted for the specific context and the desired purpose of this World Café. You can use the same questions for each round, or they can be built upon each other to focus the conversation, or guide its direction. Finally, at some point, individuals are invited to share insights from their conversations with the rest of the large group in what's usually called the harvest. These results are often captured visually in a variety of ways at the front of the room. As well as these five steps, there are also seven principles upon which World Café is based. One, set the context. Pay attention to the reason you're bringing people together and what you want to achieve. Two, create a hospitable space, one that feels safe and inviting. Three, explore questions that matter. Four, encourage everyone's contribution while also allowing anyone who wants to participate by simply listening to do so. Five, connect diverse perspectives. As participants carry key ideas or themes to new tables, they exchange perspectives, and this greatly enriches the possibility for surprising new insights. Six, listen together for patterns and insights. And seven, share collective discoveries. The last phase of the café, called the harvest, involves making things visible to everyone in the large group conversation. This type of meeting is a great way of incorporating the agile values of openness, transparency, respect, collaboration, and sharing of information in an organisation regardless of its size. And therefore is a favourite for organisations that are scaling their agile approach.