Make the Invitation Personal

In an electronic, need-for-speed, overnight-delivery age, the more personal the invitation the better. A visit is more personal than a call; a call is more personal than a letter; a letter is more personal than e-mail—a letter with six people’s names on it is less personal than one addressed to one person, and an e-mail is about as impersonal as it gets. We are so flooded with e-mails and the medium is so senseless that I have come to believe that in the rank order of inviting, e-mails don’t count. But all are better than lying in bed at night waiting for the universe to provide.*

Okay, it’s time to make the invitation… How will you do it? You have what you’ll invite people to. You have the list of people. How can you make the invite?

Is there someone you can ask to share this risk with you? To ask you about the invitation or to come with you to make the invitation? Remember, as soon as someone says yes, they are sharing the responsibility for the gathering’s possibility with you.

Next we’ll talk about the setting for the meeting, which will influence whenand where.

 

 

Block, Peter. Community: The Structure of Belonging (p. 122). Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Kindle Edition.