The Facilitator's Fieldbook by Tom Justice & David W. Jamieson

Author:Tom Justice & David W. Jamieson [Justice, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Amacom - A
Published: 2012-08-07T14:00:00+00:00

GUIDE II-29

Introducing Groups to Dialogue

Purpose

To introduce a group to the concepts involved in dialoguing and to prepare them for an initial activity in dialogue conversations.

Summary Description

This guide involves using several different tools to illustrate the concepts and the principles of dialogue. It prepares the group for and incorporates Guide II-30: Reflective Listening.

David Bohm is known as one of the premiere thinkers on the concept of dialogue. In his small book On Dialogue (1990), he writes:

I give a meaning to the word “dialogue” that is somewhat different from what is commonly used. The derivations of words often help to suggest a deeper meaning. “Dialogue” comes from the Greek word dialogos. Logos means “the word,” or in our case we would think of the “meaning of the word.” And dia means “through”—it doesn’t mean two. A dialogue can be among any number of people, not just two. Even one person can have a sense of dialogue within himself, if the spirit of the dialogue is present. The picture or image that this derivation suggests is of a stream of meaning flowing among and through us and between us. This will make possible a flow of meaning in the whole group, out of which will emerge some new understanding. It’s something new, which may not have been in the starting point at all. It’s something creative. And this shared meaning is the “glue” or “cement” that holds people and societies together.

In a dialogue, however, nobody is trying to win. Everybody wins if anybody wins. There is a different sort of spirit to it. In a dialogue, there is no attempt to gain points, or to make your particular view prevail. Rather, whenever any mistake is discovered on the part of anybody, everybody gains. It’s a situation called win-win, whereas the other game is win-lose—if I win, you lose. But a dialogue is something more of a common participation, in which we are not playing a game against each other but with each other. In a dialogue, everybody wins.

Bohm suggests that the purpose of dialogue is “to communicate coherently the truth.” William Isaacs (1993) suggests that in order to effectively engage in real dialogue, there must be a safe “container” created for the conversation that allows everyone to share their opinions and surface the assumptions underlying their opinions without hostility.

Dialogue conversations are undertaken in a quest for meaning without regard to a particular outcome. In fact, it is important that the conversations be taken on with no intent other than to gain meaning and understanding relative to the issues at hand. The objective, if there is one, is to take in all the opinions and expose them to view without subjecting them to the filters of judgment. The conversation requires a willingness of those participating to open their minds to all possible views, holding their judgments in abeyance. Only when all the opinions and assumptions have surfaced is there an opportunity for some kind of real and meaningful change.

Meaningful dialogue conversations require that each

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