The Art of Gathering

How We Meet and Why It Matters

By: Priya Parker

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Brought to you by Penguin.

How to create the most transformative meetings and moments

Being deprived of gathering has revealed just how important it is to us; to connect with others, collaborate, share ideas and create moving, life-affirming experiences.

At a time when coming together is more crucial than ever, Priya Parker sets forth a human-centered approach to gathering that can help everyone create meaningful, memorable experiences in their lives, large and small, for work and for play.

Drawing on her wide expertise as a facilitator of high-powered gatherings around the world, Parker takes us inside events of all kinds to show what works, what doesn't, and why. She investigates a wide array of gatherings - a court hearing, a flash-mob party, an Arab-Israeli summer camp - and explains how simple changes can invigorate any group experience. The result is a book full of exciting ideas of real-world applications and one that will forever alter the way you look at your next business meeting, dinner party and garden barbecue.


'Priya Parker has created both an art and a science to gathering in ways that can bring joy and fulfilment to any meeting' Deepak Chopra

'Hosts of all kinds, this is a must-read!' Chris Anderson, creator of TED

'A long overdue and urgent manifesto' Seth Godin, New York Times bestselling author of This is Marketing

© Priya Parker 2018 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Critic reviews

[A] remarkable new book about how we spend our time together, at work, at home, and beyond. If you want to get more out of every event, whether it's with your boss and co-workers or friends and family, The Art of Gathering can help

[A] fantastic book . . . . Good things happen when people connect. Especially when we follow Priya's sage advice

Enthusiastically delivered formulas for better get-togethers... useful to those whose job it is to plan meetings, conferences, and the like and a worthy survival manual for consumers of the same

This clear and engaging book sets down many things you thought you knew, until you find yourself remembering that you did not attend to its simple rules at the last significant event you hosted.... A passion for successful encounters enlivens every page (Sherry Turkle)

A brilliant and eminently practical guide! The Art of Gathering will open your eyes to just how often we gather - and how we can turn those mundane events into dazzling opportunities for meaning, dreaming, and doing. This book should be mandatory reading for everyone from the business executive to the community activist, the conflict resolution specialist to the dinner host. Concrete advice that will forever change the way you gather (Daniel L. Shapiro)

the real-life anecdotes presented.

surprisingly relevant in today's day and age. not much care is put on gatherings in the information era. The book is perfect for not only introducing a new perspective on gatherings but it is also a ideal on exploring different avenues for a wide range of preferences.