id: pro-action-cafe
title: Pro-Action Cafe
description: >-
  A structured cafe-style method where participants bring projects or
  questions they want help with and rotate through tables receiving input
  from different groups. Developed within the Art of Hosting community as a
  bridge from conversation to action.
source: Art of Hosting Conversations That Matter
source_url: https://artofhosting.org/
tags: [pro-action-cafe, art-of-hosting, projects, consultation]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Call for hosts with questions
    description: >-
      Three or four participants volunteer as table hosts, each bringing a
      real project or question they want input on. Each hosts one table
      for the whole session.
  - headline: First round — clarification
    description: >-
      Guests join a table. The host presents the question; guests ask
      clarifying questions only, helping the host sharpen what they are
      really asking.
  - headline: Second round — wisdom
    description: >-
      Guests rotate to a new table. The host shares the clarified question
      and what emerged; the new guests offer insights, experience, and
      perspectives.
  - headline: Third round — action
    description: >-
      Guests rotate again. The host now shares the clarified question and
      accumulated wisdom; guests help identify concrete next steps and
      commitments.
  - headline: Harvest
    description: >-
      Table hosts share with the whole group what they received and what
      they will do next. The harvest is recorded for all.
outcome: >-
  Each host leaves with a clarified question, pooled wisdom, and concrete
  next steps, drawn from three rounds of diverse input.
practice: >-
  The rounds build — clarification, then wisdom, then action. If guests
  jump to advice in round one, the question stays fuzzy. The host holds
  the thread across all three rounds.