The Art of Convening
Lead Meetings, Gatherings and Conversations That Build Trust, Inspire Engagement, and Move People Forward.
The Art of Convening® helps leaders create meaningful spaces where people feel heard, connected, and inspired to act - no matter the setting.
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You bring people together. But Something’s Missing.
Your meetings and gatherings don't always land the way you hope. People show up distracted. Important voices stay quiet. The energy fizzles before real action happens.
You're not alone.
We're living in an era of disconnection
burnout, polarization, and surface-level leadership
Meetings get rushed.
Conversations stay shallow.
Real connection feels rare, even though people crave it.
The Cost?
Teams lose trust.
Communities fracture.
Leaders carry the exhausting weight of holding it all together.
You sense there's a deeper way to lead — one that builds trust and creates momentum. But better agendas won't fix this.
We need a completely different approach to meeting.
At The Art of Convening® we know leadership isn’t about control or putting on a show.
It’s about showing up fully, listening deeply, and creating spaces where others can do their best work.
There’s another way to lead
Trust replaces tension.
Quiet voices find their courage.
Groups stop talking in circles and start taking aligned action.
When we change how we gather, we change what’s possible:
What is The Art of Convening?
The Art of Convening® is a leadership practice built on presence, trust, and genuine engagement.
As its core is the Convening Wheel, a framework with nine practical elements that help you design gatherings where real trust and alignment happen.
You’ll learn to:
Clarify what really matters and help everyone align on shared intentions
Craft invitations that make people want to participate authentically
Build containers where every voice gets heard
Guide groups to engage in productive discussion and commit to action
AoC works for anyone who gathers people and wants those moments to actually matter:
Leaders and facilitators who care about impact | Educators and faith leaders | Change agents and community builders
Whether you’re running a team meeting, leading a classroom, shepherding a congregation, or organizing your community
— AoC helps you lead from a place of presence and get people moving in the same direction
AoC in The Real World: Across Sectors and Settings
People use AoC in all kinds of settings where human connection and alignment matter:
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Your Path to Leading as a Convener
Join a free call or download our guide to experience what AoC feels like in practice.
Master the 9-step Convening Wheel and apply it to the gatherings that matter most to you.
Make the convener mindset part of how you show up. Transform every meeting, conversation and gathering you lead.
A live, 75-minute experience of what it feels like to be in a convened space.
A Practice Rooted in Wisdom
The Art of Convening® was created by Craig and Patricia Neal and a community of inspired conveners.
It has grown from decades of experience guiding transformational conversations across sectors and settings.
At its heart is a simple truth:
How we gather shapes what we can do — and who we can become!
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Rooted in the acclaimed 2011 book The Art of Convening and proven across industries worldwide.
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You can start using these ideas right away, while the deeper practices develop over time.
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Develops you as a leader, not just your facilitation skills.
Ready to Lead Differently?
The world has enough meetings. What we need are gatherings that matter.
And leaders who know how to create them.
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You bring people together. But Something’s Missing.
In the community
In the classroom
In the meeting
You're not alone in feeling this way.
And we're hearing that it's time for a change.
We live in a world that’s moving fast, yet struggling to make meaningful progress.
Too many spaces are performative.
Too many voices go unheard.
Too many decisions get made without the trust they require.
The Art of Convening is a practice of slowing down — to listen, to connect, and to lead from a place of presence — so that we can move forward with clarity and care.
How it works
We believe transforming our communities starts by transforming our conversations. The Art of Convening incorporates our approach to teaching the art and science of putting your purpose into action.
It’s a model we call the Convening Wheel, 9 steps to design inspirational, productive, and transformative meetings and conversations.
The Convening Wheel
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A simple, powerful framework for designing trust-centered gatherings.
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The human skills that help people feel seen, heard, and valued.
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In team meetings, retreats, classrooms, boardrooms, living rooms — anywhere people come together.
Want to experience what’s possible when presence and purpose guide the way you gather?
We invite you to begin with three simple steps:
An easy-to-fill-out assessment showing you how to get the most out of The Art of Convening.
A live, 75-minute experience of what it feels like to be in a convened space.
