If You are interested in co-leading a meeting of OARS in the Water
PLEASE READ THESE GUIDELINES FOR OARS CO-HOSTS
OARS OVERVIEW
Keeping our Oars in the Water:
Gathering to bear witness to experiences
and stories of vulnerability and resilience
What is OARS in the Water?
Sponsored by the Healing Story Alliance, OARS in the Water is a free, facilitated Zoom gathering that meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 7pm – 8:30pm EST. OARS is designed as a community gathering – a welcoming space for attendees to listen to and share experiences and stories that have emerged through turbulent times. Two co-hosts facilitate the gathering, and provide a meaningful theme that invites community contemplation and safe, shared group conversation.
Each 90-minute OARS consists of a 20-minute opening presentation by the co-hosts based on their chosen theme. The opening is followed by 20-minute breakout rooms, in which every attendee has the opportunity to be heard. Break-out rooms are followed by 40 minutes for whole group sharing, and a 5-minute conclusion by the co-hosts.
HSA hopes participants will find OARS healing, supportive and inspiring.
NOTE: Co-hosting an OARS is a heartfelt collaborative process. The two co-hosts work together from the beginning to devise a theme, the content and the flow of the meeting which is meaningful to both of them, and which is designed to invite and inspire community engagement and conversation. OARS themes respond to turbulent times by offering comfort, resilience and hope. OARS hosting is not intended to be performative or therapeutic, nor is it a time for co-hosts to promote outside personal performances or projects.
To see themes which have been addressed in the past visit: https://healingstoryalliance.org/oars-themes-2023/
TYPICAL FLOW OF AN OARS IN THE WATER GATHERING:
Introduction:
The tech host (and co-hosts if they choose to) welcome attendees as they arrive and ask for a show of hands from first timers. When it’s time to begin the program, the tech host mutes all participants and asks them to stay muted until it is time for group sharing.
Tech host introduces the co-hosts who unmute themselves and begin.
Co-hosts’ opening presentation: (approximately 20 minutes)
As co-hosts, you introduce your theme, and alternately share theme-related stories, poems, song, quotes, guided visualizations, ruminations – whatever feels most right to you — sometimes in co-spotlit conversation with one another.
Co-hosts’ sharing of prompt(s) for breakout rooms:
At the conclusion of your presentation, you share your theme-inspired prompt(s) both verbally and in the chat. You can send your prompts in advance to the tech host to put in the chat for you.
Remind participants that the prompts are just suggested guidelines for sharing. Participants are free to share whatever theme-inspired thoughts have come up for them during the presentation.
Give a minute for people to look at and think about prompts.
Ask if anyone has questions or needs further clarification.
Suggest breakout “roommates” share the breakout time equally (let them know the tech host will place a timer in each room with reminder when to switch) and invite them to start their share by briefly introducing themselves, especially to newcomers. Wish folks a great time in their breakout room!
Breakout Rooms (typically 3 to a room, 20 minutes)
As co-hosts, you choose whether to be placed in a breakout room with other attendees or placed in a breakout room just with each other (and perhaps take the 20 minutes as relaxing downtime!). You can also choose to vary the number of people in a room or the time people spend in breakout rooms.
Post-breakout rooms – Whole Group Sharing
Co-hosts welcome participants back to the whole group.
Explain that this is the time for whole group sharing and that sharing is voluntary.
Remind participants how to raise their hands virtually if they would like to share.
Ask them please to each keep their shares to 2-3 minutes max so that as many people as want to can share.
Remind them that they are to share only their own personal thoughts and experiences and not those of their breakout room partners.
Call on participants who wish to share in the order in which they raise their hand.
Responding to participant shares:
Taking a brief, silent pause after each share allows welcome time for the gift of each share to be felt, so please consider pausing between shares. Your response to each share can be (is perhaps best kept) simple and brief – just your genuine, heartfelt expression of respect, empathy, and gratitude for the share. Sometimes a sincere “thank you” is enough. Your heart and intuition will tell you what feels right.
If at any point in the community sharing it seems there aren’t any more attendees wanting to share, perhaps take a pause and allow for meaningful silence. Shares may bubble up. If not, perhaps introduce another prompt for discussion in the form of a question, short story, poem, song….
Program Closing:
It’s become a lovely tradition for co-hosts to offer some final theme-inspired thoughts for closing the program in the form of a brief (usually 5 minutes or less) final story, song, poem, photograph, quote – whatever feels most right as closing. Then invite everyone to stay to hear about upcoming events.
The tech host will share upcoming HSA events verbally, through screen share and in the chat.
When these announcements are over, co-hosts can thank the tech host, thank participants for coming, and invite everyone to unmute to say a brief goodbye to one another.
Either tech host or one of the co-hosts may choose to invite attendees to become Friends of Healing Story Alliance by making much-appreciated monthly donations to HSA.
Post Event Short Gathering
Co-hosts please stay for this if possible.
This is a brief gathering of co-hosts and Advisory Committee members to thank and praise our (always wonderful!) co-hosts. As HSA President Heather Forest says, gratitude is our currency!
Timing for submitting POSTER INFO:
By the 15th of the month preceding your OARS, and earlier if you can, please email to Heather Forest and Galen Brandt the info needed for your poster:
- theme,
- title of your OARS,
- a several-sentence blurb describing your OARS,
- a several-sentence bio for each co-host.
In other words, if you are doing an OARS anytime in July (on either the second or fourth Wednesday), please make sure to email your poster info by JUNE 15th latest. This gives Heather time to put together a beautiful poster for you and get all publicity out by the first of the month in which you are co-hosting. We do not need photos of your lovely selves — just written bios.
TECH FLOW SHEET:
A few days before your OARS, please email your tech host a one- or two-page outline of your tech needs — ie your planned flow of the evening, including who needs spotlighting when, the length of your breakout group and how many participants you’d like in each room, whether you need to end the group discussion by a certain time so that you can spend the last few minutes offering a conclusion, etc. You can also send the text for your breakout room prompt(s) to your tech host to put in the chat for you, plus anything else you’d like the host to put in the chat — quotes, book titles, song lyrics, poems you’re offering, etc.
Thank you!!
If you’ve read these guidelines and would like to co-host, please let us know! We will include you on our list of willing potential co-hosts. Experienced OARS leaders on the schedule choose partners from this list.
Email HSA at
[email protected]