Larry Gaffin, who passed away of cancer in June, hosted his Conversation Café in Seattle faithfully every week from the early days in 2002 until soon before he died. Each week he pulled another juicy topic from the hip pocket of his fine mind. He arrived each time eager to engage and was welcoming to every person who showed up. He also served on the Advisory Board here in Seattle, helping to mold and grow the Initiative. Larry was an inspiring host and is already missed. He made it look effortless, but we all know there are many hosting hurdles and hoops he - and you - have navigated.

Hosting a Conversation Café is a unique - and sometimes very challenging - volunteer opportunity. Hosts are unsung heroes and heroines of public places and this article is to give hosts among you some empathy for the thorny moments, appreciation for your towering achievements (showing up, keeping going, getting regulars and newcomers) and some perspective on the whole lifecycle of a CC.

First, bravo! However many CCs you've hosted, however recently or long ago you did it, you are a brave, imaginative and likely fascinating person.

Trish Dickinson may have spread Conversation Cafés more widely than most any other 10 people outside of CC’s home office in Seattle. From peace activists in the Occupied Territories to educators in Hungary to ecological agriculture innovators gathering in Portugal, Trish offers her twin passions of Conversation Cafés and Nonviolent Communication without hesitation wherever she goes.

Trish–who makes her home in Birmingham in the U.K.–first encountered CCs at the Schumacher College in 2003, on a course for international peace activists. She had been working as a Nonviolent Communication trainer for 12 years, and was looking for a way to give people an entry-level or “taster” experience of a communication process that many people find difficult. She says, “The whole of me just said YES when I met Vicki.” (Vicki Robin, a co-founder of Conversation Cafés, was one of the tutors on the course.)

Think big. Any event that includes speakers or presentations can use a Conversation Café. I’ve used CCs to enhance participants’ experience of several events, and helped people to connect with one another in the process. For example:

Last summer, a small nonprofit invited Arun Gandhi, grandson of the legendary “Mahatma” Gandhi, to participate in an event they were organizing for teens. At the podium in a well-filled auditorium, Gandhi spoke inspiringly for 15 minutes about his passion for non-violent communication. The students were then directed to various locations in the school, where they gathered for Conversation Cafés on non-violence. Each group was hosted by a teenager and a parent, who had both attended a 30-minute training prior to the event. Moved by Gandhi’s speech, and empowered by the Conversation Café format, the youth engaged in lively, thoughtful conversations. The Conversation Cafés seeded thoughts and started friendships.

Join our own Susan Partnow, professional trainer and CC co-founder, for telephone trainings through our sister initiative, Let's Talk America. Find details and registration information on the LTA website. Sign up yourself, or (and!) forward the newsletter along to other folks you know who would enjoy a jump-start into CC hosting.

Watch it online:

Watch Conversation Café's host training video, featuring 27 wonderful minutes of everything you need to know to host a Conversation Café, brought to you by CC's personable co-founders, Vicki Robin and Susan Partnow. You can view or download the movie for free on the CC website here.

Host training on DVD:

If you would like a copy on DVD, you can send a donation of $25-$10 plus $2.50 shipping and handling to Conversation Café c/o New Road Map Foundation, PO Box 15320, Seattle, WA 98115.