The Art of Gathering

Why Are You Gathering?

Whether you are gathering to be cheerful – for a wedding, to be mournful – for a funeral – or to be productive and decisive – for a business meeting, gatherings structure today’s social and business life.

Identifying the purpose of a gathering makes it meaningful. Experienced meeting facilitator Priya Parker insists that a category – like “a wedding” or “a meeting” – is not a purpose. For example, a networking event might have the purpose of connecting people to solve shared problems. Or, she notes, that same networking event could be intended to improve working relationships in the community. Both purposes are specific, and each one requires the event organizer to structure the gathering differently.