A Concopian Conference Dinner
How to: 5 hour conference dinner format using Concopia Cards to spark conversations and inspirations among the guests.
On October 10th, 2024, I had the honor of serving as the salonnière at the 9th Nordic Conference on Rhetorics (NKRF9): Rhetoric in Digital and Technological Transition. As a former student of the Department of Rhetoric at the University of Copenhagen, it was a truly special experience—many of the guests were my academic icons and inspirations. Furthermore: I was thrilled that Professor Lisa Villadsen had asked me to kickstart Concopian Conversations during the three-course celebratory dinner. She has conducted extensive academic research on the propaedeutic potential of my Conversation Salons in relation to rhetorical citizenship and it was very exciting for me to engage these scholars of rhetoric in Concopian Conversations and to discuss their theoretical and methodological insights afterward, reflecting on what they had just experienced.
The use of Concopia Cards during the dinner, as described below, can be applied generically to various settings and conference dinners on any topic, even though I created this particular format for the special occasion.
“Concopia Cards can be used for conference dinners
on any given topic”
Preparations
For a formal dinner like this, where I know all the guests come from a specific field of interest or academia, I like to handpick the cards I believe are most relevant to the group. I pack these selected cards into the Concopia Card boxes and leave one box on each table. For this event, I mainly used the categories Civic Desires and Pivotal People, as they center around agency and citizenship while offering insights into Danish culture, which I hoped would interest the international guests.
I also tend to select one card that I feel will serve as a great closing question for the Concopian Conversations of the evening. For this specific dinner, I chose No. 37, Dreaming, though I've also frequently used No. 21, Reimagining the World, for this purpose. And really – any can work for this purpose depending on the group and the occasion.
For the remaining cards, I ensure there are enough identical cards to match the number of seats at each table. Meaning that if the tables have 6 seats I make sure to hand out 6 identical cards to various guests without them knowing that there are others in the group who hold the same card. These cards serve three important purposes:
I use them when pairing guests during the arrival waves (further details below).
All cards correspond to a table, making random seating easy when guests are asked to find the table that matches their card.
The cards from other categories— in this case primarily Wonders of Nature, Reenchantments, and Endangered Skills— inspire the guests to share aspects of their lives that are rarely discussed at conference dinners, yet may be highly relevant and inspiring. This allows guests to explore different facets of each other and their field that might not otherwise come up.
Suggested programme
Arrival Waves – 30 minutes before the official starting time until 15 minutes after: Upon arrival, I pair the guests randomly and ask each one to pick a card to start a spontaneous conversation based on their chosen cards. This gives the early arrivals a chance to begin the evening with engaging discussions rather than looking at their phones, while those who arrive a bit late can settle in comfortably before the official welcome.
Official Welcome: Prepare a speech to inform the guests about what is about to happen and why it’s important to have Concopian Conversations. The more personal and tailored to the audience, the better. However, feel free to supplement your points with the three reasons we share on Card C, What’s in a Name?:
Concopia creates a space for respectful divergence.
Concopia revives copious, abundant conversations.
Concopia encourages us to realize our utopias.
Seating: Now, ask the guests to find the table that matches the card they drew upon arrival.
Round of Introductions: Once everyone is seated, ask the guests to introduce themselves while answering the question on the card they drew. Everyone at the table will have this card in common, and they will already have discussed it upon arrival. This relieves some of the tension of talking to strangers. As they listen to each other, the guests will learn something surprising about each other–and hopefully also about their fields even if approached from an unexpected angle. Insights and inspirations that might not typically be shared at conference dinners, but that could turn out to be inspiring or educational. This often creates new common frames of reference for the group that are now no longer strangers.
Two Deeper Conversations: As the first course is served, ask the guest nearest to the box of Concopia Cards to distribute new cards to everyone at the table. Guests now turn to each other in pairs, read the questions aloud, and start a conversation based on the two cards. After 15–20 minutes, everyone receives a new card and turns to the person on their other side for a second conversation that also lasts for 15–20 minutes.
Final Round: Now it’s time to introduce the final card, preferably with a personal story about its significance. At this point, it might also be a good idea to clarify that this will be the last Concopian task of the evening—after this round, guests are free to discuss whatever they like. You then hand out the final card to each table and instruct guests to use it as a talking stick: Whoever holds the card speaks, while everyone else listens attentively. Once the speaker finishes, they pass the card to the next person, who then shares while everyone listens.
The Rest of the Evening: After the final round, tables are free to discuss whatever they like, though you will probably (hopefully) find that many are likely to explore the Concopia Cards and the ideas that emerged from them throughout the evening. When guests mingle with others at different tables, they will have plenty to talk about. Since each table had different starting points for conversation, everyone will have unique experiences to share, and the cards provide easy conversation starters with new acquaintances.
Enjoy!