How To Host Better Gatherings with Priya Parker

This podcast episode is a companion to “Issue #58: No More Bad Dinner Parties.”

Coming together as a community has the potential to be the most important thing we do—gatherings are supposed to make us feel something, but the uninspiring dinner party I attended is far from an exceptional anecdote. It’s why Priya Parker starts off her book The Art of Gathering with the observation, “The way we gather matters. And yet most of us spend very little time thinking about the actual ways in which we gather.”

Last week, I spoke to Priya about how to do just that. We chatted about utilizing “generous authority,” how creating a guest list can be a cleansing ritual, and the importance of a purpose and “moment of focus.” I love what she shared, near the end, when I asked her about hosting my first dinner party in my studio apartment. You can listen to our full conversation here:

Two quick episode notes:

1. The article Priya quotes in her book is “Chill is a Garbage Virtue” by Alana Massey.

2. The memory expert Priya references is Ed Cooke.

Thanks for listening! You can access the original issue here.

Issue #58: No More Bad Dinner Parties