"less prep, more presence" doesn't mean no prep
06 Mar 2026i was just in a brief check-in (via pompod) with the esteemed danielle coates-connor and we stumbled into a hilarious but important conversation:
in our usual way (full of deep truths and giggles) we danced through the reality that “less prep, more presence” doesn’t mean no prep!
i was preparing for the final day of the rockwood training i’m delivering this week this and as i said some of my work this morning was to prep for my sections, danielle said “well you, less prep, more presence.” and i said “for sure; but that doesn’t mean no prep.”
danielle said, “right! less prep, more presence is for people who habitually over prepare.”
i responded, “yeah, that quote was not intended as a validation for people who perpetually under prepare.”
when adrienne maree brown put out emergent strategy (es) what feels like ages ago, one of the principles (https://www.concentricstrategy.org/post/principles-of-emergent-strategy) was “less prep, more presence”.
it seems simple enough but it’s such a clear that quotes from important, quoteworthy folks get taken out of context and misused.
as i understand it, less prep, more presence, came from a time when there was a small trend in movement gatherings, convenings, and facilitations where the design would be so complicated or involved to allow for what’s actually happening in the room to come through. simpler, less complex design can create space for allowing what’s actually happening in the room to come through. also, less prep, more presence encourages emphasis on actually BEING present and leaning on live facilitation skills to let what’s is present bubble up and into the room rather than stay hidden in the corners or left to come up in the hallways after the meeting ends or on breaks.
anyways, that’s all i/we wanna say here. back to work!
resources:
- https://blog.mahabali.me/pedagogy/less-prep-more-presence-as-a-teaching-philosophy/
- the principles in an early form - https://adriennemareebrown.net/2013/12/14/principles-of-emergent-processes-in-facilitation/
- the principles in final form - https://www.concentricstrategy.org/post/principles-of-emergent-strategy
words / writing / post-processing
287w / 11min / 2min