How to Make Your Holiday Gatherings Memorable

I'm Rufus Griscom and this is the next big idea. Today, how to rescue your holiday gatherings from mediocrity. If your holidays are anything like mine, you've spent the last few weeks bouncing from one gathering to the next, and here's the thing most of them probably felt kind of forgettable. We show up, we make small talk, we eat too much cheese, and we go home. Rinse and repeat through New Year's.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Back in January 2020, I sat down with Priya Parker, a conflict resolution specialist who's worked on peace processes around the world to talk about her book, The Art of Gathering. What she told me changed how I think about every dinner party Every work meeting, every family get together I host. This conversation was five years ago and it still sticks with me.

Priya's argument is simple but radical. She says most of our gatherings fail because we focus on the wrong things. We obsess over the menu, the playlists, and we ignore the one question we really should be asking, why are we bringing these people together? With the right answers to that question, she says, you can turn any gathering into something meaningful, maybe even transformative. I wanted to reshare this conversation in the hopes that it might inspire you as you host or attend holiday gatherings this week.

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