Place

I have just had a meeting in a coffee shop. I have lots of meetings in coffee shops. I like the atmoshere here, it is informal and friendly. My task, however, is to create a little 'atmosphere'/'environment'/'place', call it what you will, that is safe and where an intentional and focused conversation can take place. This takes practice and I have made a few mistakes in the past - noisy espresso machines and such like are not ideal to have around. I also like to make sure there is plenty of light and that the person I am talking to is not going to be distracted by other customers or posters on walls etc. I try and arrive early and case the joint before my mentee arrives, and I have been known to change venues at the last minute if where I have chosen is not going to be conducive to the kind of chat I feel we need to have - simple but fundamental aspects of intentional mentoring.

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