1
Listen to understand, not to answer.
You are not waiting for your turn. You are letting someone's words finish landing before yours begin.
How we sit together
The Eleven Principlesof the Table
Every Coherence gathering is held by these eleven principles. Less rulebook, more story — read them slowly, the way they are meant to be kept.
2
Notice what you assume, then set it down.
Every certainty parked at the door makes the table larger.
3
Let silence do its work.
A pause is not a failure of the conversation. It is the conversation, thinking.
4
Slow the cadence.
The interesting sentence is usually the one after the one you planned.
5
Before you speak, ask three things.
Have I heard what was said? Is it my turn? Does what I am about to say serve the table?
6
Offer your view, then follow theirs.
Curiosity first, conviction second. Questions are the cutlery of the table.
7
At a round table there is no head.
Every voice carries the same weight; every perspective earns the same attention.
8
What is said here is held here.
People speak freely only where nothing can be used against them. The table keeps its confidences.
9
Follow the energy, not the plan.
The evening has no agenda to defend. Let the conversation find its own rhythm.
10
You do not need to know where this is going.
Neither does anyone else. That shared not-knowing is the point.
11
Nobody wins a Coherence table.
The aim is never to prevail. We leave carrying something none of us brought.