Gathering ’11 was an event that brought together leading thinkers, change-makers and collaborators from across Australia and around the world to explore and develop ideas on how to solve today’s most pressing social and environmental challenges, together.

In this series of podcasts I interview the attendees about their personal experiences of Gathering ’11, as a way of exploring these topics further, and of continuing the conversation.

Today my guest is Viv McWaters — freelance facilitator, world traveller, and disruptor from Bells Beach, Australia.

You can follow Viv on Twitter: @vivmcw.

Viv wrote a blog post of her Gathering ’11 experience. In it, she talks about John Hagel, author of The Power of Pull, and the idea of ‘chipping away at the core’. She also describes a technique introduced by Heather Gold called tummeling, or UnPresenting. I thought I’d follow up with a conversation about these topics and more.

We also chat about:

• Being a participant (as opposed to being a facilitator)
• The importance of connections, particularly for introverts
• The role of social media at Gathering’11 and other conferences
• Improv wisdom (Commit – Make your partner look good – Being ordinary: putting down your clever).

Credits: Intro music by Sic Alps / by-nc-sa

Please consider donating via the Gathering ’11 website. Your contribution will ensure the team can pull together Gathering ’12 and continue to share what they learned from Gathering ’11. They greatly appreciate your support!