158. How to Have a Party with Purpose

Crafting Deep Connections and Meaningful Moments by Being Specific About a Gathering's Purpose

Outside of exercise, the primary goal of my sabbatical is to build community. When I was working, I never had time to meet people and build deep relationships.

Since we are making friends, Michelle and I have been hosting and attending a lot of gatherings. We have found Priya Parker’s tool of having a deep purpose very helpful in creating events that deepen relationships.

Having a purpose for a gathering may seem simple and obvious. However, Priya Parker emphasizes having a deep and specific purpose. To “celebrate my birthday” is not an adequate purpose. The purpose is the goal of the gathering. What do we want everyone to get out of the gathering?

A birthday party’s purpose is never simply to celebrate a person’s birthday

Back to the birthday party example, the purpose could be to bring all my friends from different groups together and find commonalities among them. Maybe the purpose is simply to have my friends show their appreciation for me on my birthday. See how these two different purposes have two completely different party structures? In the former, the host may use an icebreaker or game to introduce the different guests to each other. In the later example, maybe the host has a friend write down one thing they appreciate about the birthday person and then the host may share these out loud.

Knowing the purpose of the party can help structure the agenda, how the room is laid out, who is invited, etc.

This week, Michelle and I use Priya Parker’s recommendations on the purpose of a gathering from her book The Art of Gathering, to help create more meaningful events.

Show Notes:

• The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

• Deep Talk Meetup Charleston

Community Time

• Thank you

  NatalieFL
  for your comments on our CAMPFI episode

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