On Monday 3rd July 2023 PropelHer’s Book Club discussed The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker.

 

In this summary of The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker  I’ll be briefly summarising the book to help you to make a decision about whether you should buy a copy of the book for yourself.

 

Chapter 1: Decide Why You’re Really Gathering is about getting clear on the reason for the gathering. Very often we go through the motions or we think we are meeting for one thing when really we are meeting for something else. Getting clear on the purpose of your gathering will help you make decisions about everything else. 

 

Once you are clear on the purpose of your gathering you can then consciously choose who is and isn’t invited. Being intentional about who you invite, and don’t invite, is key to ensure the overall experience for all who do attend. 

 

Priya emphasises the importance of being strict with your guest list and that theme of being strict for the good of the gathering is explored further in Chapter 3: Don’t Be A Chill Host. Priya talks about how many hosts have now adopted a chill approach to hosting and she explains why that is the wrong attitude to have and what you should be doing instead. 

 

Next, the book explores how to create a temporary world at your event. Whether it is a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience or about creating a world where the people meeting can get the most out of the experience. It is your job as a host to create an alternative world. The choice you make impacts how people will show up and interact.

 

Chapter 5: Never Start a Funeral with Logistics discusses how to start your event well with practical tips to ensure you start how you mean to go on. Then in Chapter 6 and & you’ll learn about how to get people to talk, sometimes on controversial topics, and how to open up and be honest. Here the emphasis is on what you can do in order to create a space for sharing and sometimes tough conversations. 

 

Then the book closes with Chapter 8: Accept That There Is An End. In this chapter, Priya shares how to end a gathering well and help people transition back into their day-to-day life.

 

That’s it! You now have an idea about what you can expect to find inside of The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker..  

 

Like the sound of The Art of Gathering. Why not buy a copy of the book and have a read? 

 

 

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker was read as part of PropelHer’s Book Club. PropelHer’s Book Club is an online non-fiction book club for ambitious women that meet monthly. Every month PropelHer’s Book Club reads a different book to help ambitious women concentrate on their personal development and professional success. You can see what else we have read so far here. If you would like to join PropelHer’s Book Club you can find full details here.

And don’t forget to share your book pictures! Tag @Propelherorg.