What is dialogue and why use it?

Dialogue means “through words”.  What we refer to  as “dialogue” is a defined set of communication patterns that help people move through issues.  These patterns are different than those used in debate (talking at each other), polite discussion (talking with each other while avoiding the hard issues), or deliberation (weighing defined options together in order to reach a decision).  Dialogue is more than “just talk”.  At the most general level, dialogue is a form of interaction in which people of different backgrounds with different experiences can share their thoughts and be heard in an environment of mutual respect.  Why use it?  It works! Well planned dialogue can build the foundation of mutual understanding and trust that is needed to help our communities work through difficult issues.

In this blog we explore the importance of dialogue by providing a hub for conversation, useful resources, and key case studies.  Take a look around and join the conversation.

Collaboration: Resources That Help

We noted in our last post that, prior to embarking on a collaborative process,  it is useful to take stock of the resources available in your community that can help you collaboratively work through conflict.   What are these resources?  They include, of course, monetary and in-kind resources for funding a process and ensuring adequate administrative and technological support.  They also include a community’s general level of civic participation, relationships among groups, and the support of government and key community leaders.  Other assets less typically thought about include the level, type and ease of access to shared information within the community, existing process skills, past positive experiences in the community, a shared vision for the future, shared interests and values, a strong communal history, and governmental systems that are open and accessible.  The more assets a community has to start with, the more likely it will be successful in launching a collaborative process.  If your community is lacking significant assets you can still plan a sequence of actions that will help you to both build more assets and provide for some form of public engagement.  What you don’t want to do is start a process that is likely to fail, creating a pattern of cynicism and low expectations that will make future collaborative efforts more difficult.  Choosing where and how to start, or when to expand your collaborative efforts, will be the subject of our next post.

If you are interested in systematically assessing your community’s resilience in the face of conflict and its readiness for productive collaboration, we have developed a workbook that will help you do so.  For more information, contact us at info@buildingdialogue.com.

Collaboration: Getting Ready for the Right Intervention

Engaging citizens in joint problem solving or collaborative discussion of issues can help you move through the conflicts that inevitably occur in our diverse communities.   This does not mean though that simple invitations to sit down and talk will allow you to move forward and avoid a partisan stalemate.  Just as a doctor diagnoses a patient before deciding on an intervention, collaborative approaches work best if you assess your community’s readiness and resilience before determining how to move forward.  This includes analyzing both the sources of conflict  and the level at which they are occurring.   If there is little trust, or of even greater concern, patterns of hate that are active among community members, you will want to start in a different way and at a different point than you might if community members are already comfortable working together.   Put another way, if trust issues are not addressed upfront in designing your collaborative process, efforts to find joint resolution on substantive points are likely to founder on bipartisan resistance to “cooperating with the enemy.”   In addition to analyzing patterns and sources of conflict, is is also useful at the outset to take stock of the resources available in your community to help you work through conflict.  These will be the subject of our next post.

If you are interested in systematically assessing your community’s resilience in the face of conflict and its readiness for productive collaboration, we have developed a workbook that will help you do so.  For more information, contact us at info@buildingdialogue.com.

A More Collaborative Future

One positive outcome of the current political discourse at the national level is that many citizens and leaders are looking for a different approach than partisan bickering.  Cities in particular are experimenting with avoiding partisan divides through more dialogue based approaches.  Recently ICMA asked administrators to predict what local government would look like in 2020.  Those predictions included several that are aligned with the emergence and growth of ongoing dialogue and collaboration between government and citizens. These included:

• Resident engagement will become the norm.
• Quality of life and a sense of place will be important to residents.
• Teamwork and consensus building will be essential skills.
• Working effectively with diverse and aging populations also will be a major skill.
• Performance measurement, quality control, and benchmarking will be emphasized.

As we have noted in prior posts, building a more collaborative future takes commitment and learning new skills – both by citizens and those in government.  It can be hard to discern when and where to start, and what tools are needed to have an effective dialogue.  Efforts to just “get citizens together” often turn into what one recent meeting participant we met  called a “primal scream fest”.   He had attended a meeting called by a local official to allow citizens to “discuss their differences”.  There was no preparation beforehand,  no facilitator, and an “open mic” rather than small group dialogue.   Every one “had their say” but little got accomplished and tensions increased.  Such meetings are more likely to delay rather than enhance the use of effective dialogue in a community, although they are not uncommon.  In our next series of posts we will be reviewing how you can assess your community’s readiness for dialogue, and choose the level and type that will help you move forward, towards a more collaborative future.

Civility and Civil Public Discourse: The Next Generation

The fifth and final video we have sponsored in support of the American Bar Association’s Mediation Week considers how the skills of citizenship are learned in each generation.  The video, “Talking About My Generation,” features an interview with two sophomores at the  University of Missouri,  one majoring in Philosophy and Economics and considering a future legal career,  and one majoring in Strategic Communication.  Both have been actively engaged in promoting civil discourse since high school, where as seniors they helped to run a student led forum known as the “Speak Your Mind” forum.    We invite you to show this video to others in your own community and invite further discussion.  Here are some questions you might ask the group to consider:   What are the skills citizens need now, and will need in the future to preserve our democracy? What are we doing to help our youth learn citizenship skills? What in the video reassured you or raised concerns about youth in the electorate?  How do we as very different generations, with different experiences, needs, and ways of accessing information, work to support each other and learn from each other? We invite you to share your comments and experiences by using the comment feature on this blog.

Interested in helping the next generation learn? Look at the educational resources in the ABA’s “Words Work” Curriculum, or those at FactCheckEd, iCivics, or American Values Are.  These can be used by schools, families and community groups.  Also, the generational research referenced in the video can be found at IOmeChallenge.

All videos were recorded using VTC Stream.  Find out more about this technology at vtcstream.com.  You can use the “embed and share” link to the right of the video to post this to your website or other location.

Civility and Civil Public Discourse: On-line Tools For Collaboration Rather Than Complaint

The fourth video we have sponsored in support of the American Bar Association’s Mediation Week looks at how on-line communication has affected our political discourse, and new platforms that foster more civil discourse.     The video, “On-line Tools For Collaboration Rather Than Complaint“  features a discussion between Sarah Read of The Communications Center, Inc. and Scott Christianson from Kaleidoscope Consulting and VTC Stream.  We invite you to look at several of the sites discussed in the video, including:

White House Open Initiative

Democratizing Data

Manor Labs

Albemarle, VA

Results Minneapolis

Two sites that publish useful studies about online platforms that government entities can use for collaboration include the IBM Business of Government site, and the Knight Commission site which focuses on the information needs of communities in a democracy.

Talk with others about promoting more civil discourse on-line and integrating on-line participation with your systems of government.  We also invite you to share your comments and experiences by using the comment feature on this blog.

All videos were recorded using VTC Stream.  Find out more about this technology at vtcstream.com.  You can use the “embed and share” link to the right of the video to post this to your website or other location.