This toolkit gives you Sebastian Johnson’s complete framework for designing convenings that actually work: from the foundational tall vs. wide question, to a container-matching guide, to a one-pager planning template you can fill out before anything else. It’s designed for anyone who brings people together — whether that’s a salon dinner for ten or a multi-day gathering for two hundred.
From the Helia Library — based on the article The Secret Sauce of Good Convenings, from our Coffee Chat with Sebastian Johnson.
What’s Inside
Two resources, meant to be used together. Start with the guide to understand the framework — then use the planning template to put it into practice.
01 — The Convening Container Guide
A comprehensive reference for choosing the right gathering format (salon dinner, cocktail event, multi-day convening, or site visit) and setting it up for success. Use this first to understand which container fits your objectives — and what to watch out for before you write a single agenda item.
If you want help with convenings
Sebastian works with organizations across the social sector on convening strategy, facilitation, and external affairs. He’s particularly thoughtful about convenings that need to hold genuine tension — different ideologies, competing priorities, stakeholders who don’t yet trust each other — and turn that into something that actually moves.
He’s a good fit if:
- You’re planning a convening with diverse or even conflicting stakeholder groups and need help thinking through the design
- You want to expand your tent but aren’t sure how to do it without losing what you’ve built
- You’re thinking about your convening as part of a broader external affairs or brand strategy
- You want a facilitator who brings both real facilitation craft AND subject matter context for your work
Connect with Sebastian !
Not sure Sebastian ‘s the right fit? Talk to Helia directly!
About Sebastian
Sebastian Johnson has led convenings across the social sector — as leader of the Center for Lived Experience at Think of Us and VP of External Affairs at Arnold Ventures — bringing together strange bedfellows, building brands through curation, and creating space where real relationships and real action happen simultaneously. What I appreciate most about him is that his approach is both deeply strategic and genuinely human. He cares about what people leave the room feeling, not just what they decide.
