Dialogue as a form of communication is part of the Mind Gliding Professional Management Development Programme. We hope this article will be helpful in your exploration of dialogue. Please feel free to copy and distribute it as long as you reference the source appropriately and provide contact information. Thank you.
Dialogue is about what we value and how we define it. It is about discovering what our true values are, about looking beyond the superficial and automatic answers to our questions. Dialogue is about expanding our capacity for attention, awareness and learning with and from each other. It is about exploring the frontiers of what it means to be human, in relationship to each other and our world. --Glenna Gerard, 1995.
Dialogue is a foundational communication process leading directly to personal and organisational transformation. It assists in creating environments of high trust and openness, with reflective and generative capacities. One might think of dialogue as a revolutionary approach in the development of the following organisational disciplines: continuous learning, diversity, conflict exploration, decision making and problem solving, leadership, self-managing teams, organisational planning and alignment, and culture change.--Linda Ellinor , 1996
DIALOGUE: SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
David Bohm traces the roots of Dialogue to the Greek "dia" and "logos"
which means "through meaning." One might think of Dialogue as a stream of
meaning flowing among and through a group of people, out of which may emerge
some new understanding, something creative. Dialogue moves beyond any one
individual's understanding, to make explicit the implicit and build collective
meaning and community.
It is often useful to contrast Dialogue with discussion. In Dialogue we
are interested in creating a fuller picture of reality rather than breaking
it down into fragments or parts, as happens in discussion. In Dialogue we
do not try to convince others of our points of view. There is no emphasis
on winning, but rather on learning, collaboration and the synthesis of points
of view.
Dialogue slows down the speed at which most groups converse by employing
deeper levels of listening and reflection. Another important aspect of Dialogue
is its open-endedness. This means letting go of the need for specific results.
This does not mean there are no results from Dialogue; in fact there are
many. However, in releasing the need for certain predetermined outcomes,
important issues can be allowed by surface which often go undiscovered in
agenda-based meetings. The result is often a deeper level of understanding
and new insight.
A final important aspect of Dialogue is that it creates a community-based
culture of cooperation and shared leadership. It moves groups from the dependency,
competition and exclusion often found in hierarchical cultures to increased
collaboration, partnership and inclusion.
DIALOGUE CONTRASTED WITH DISCUSSION
It is often useful to contrast Dialogue with a more familiar form of communication,
discussion.
Discussion has the same Greek root as percussion and concussion, discus,
meaning to throw, fragment, shatter. David Bohm likened discussion
to an activity where we throw our opinions back and forth in an attempt
to convince each other of the rightness of a particular point of view. In
this process, the whole view is often fragmented and shattered into many
pieces.
The intentions of dialogue and discussion are quite different and are contrasted below.
| Dialogue | Discussion |
| To inquire to learn | To tell, sell, persuade |
| To unfold shared meaning | To gain agreement on one meaning |
| To integrate multiple perspectives | To evaluate and select the best |
| To uncover and examine assumptions | To justify/defend assumptions |
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF DIALOGUE
Skill Building Blocks and Guidelines for Dialogue
The building blocks and behavioral guidelines outlined below are concepts
that form a scaffolding for Dialogue. Like the scaffolding used in construction
to aid in the initial stages of building, they are meant to help provide an
environment conducive to unfolding the dialogical process.
Rather than a set of rules, you might think of them as reminders of the
level of attention which lies at the core of Dialogue. Attention to our thinking,
our feelings, our communication, assumptions and judgments. Attention to
the unfolding meaning of the group, the spirit of inquiry and the pauses
for reflection that lead to learning and understanding.
Held lightly, these guidelines and building blocks will help you enter
into Dialogue. Held too firmly, they will trap you in just one more structure
and limiting system. Dialogue is a living process and requires the willingness
of all participants to be open to letting go of the known in order to discover
new perspectives and understanding. As one writer so eloquently put it, "We
must be prepared in each moment to give up (our ideas of) who we are to discover
all we may become. "
So, by all means use these guidelines to help you begin your exploration
of Dialogue, and in each moment, be prepared to release them and let your
attention guide you to the next level of learning.
FOUR SKILL BUILDING BLOCKS
Suspension of Judgment
Of all the building blocks, suspension of judgment is the foundation for
Dialogue, and perhaps, the most challenging. Our normal way of thinking divides,
organises and labels. Because our egos become identified with how we think
things are we often find ourselves defending our positions against those
of others. This makes it difficult for us to stay open to new and alternative
views of reality. It is hard to listen when we are engaged in a heated battle
about "who's right and who's wrong!"
When we learn to suspend judgment, to "hold our positions more lightly",
we open the door to see others' points of view. It is not that we do away
with our judgments and opinions - this would be impossible. We simply create
a space between our judgment and our reaction, and thus open a door for listening.
Suspending judgment is also a key to building a climate of trust and safety.
As we learn that we will not be "judged" wrong for our opinions, we feel
freer to express ourselves. The atmosphere becomes more open and truthful.
Assumption Identification
Identify means "to recognise, to pick out from your surroundings, to feel
one with." Assumptions are "those things which are assumed or thought to
be". So to identify assumptions is to recognise, or identify, that which we
think is so.
It is probably obvious to most of us that our assumptions play a large
role in how we evaluate our environment, the decisions we make and how we
behave. Yet, it is just this aspect of our thinking that we consistently overlook
when we seek to solve problems, resolve conflicts, or create synergy among
diverse people.
Why do we overlook the obvious? David Bohm would say because our "assumptions
are transparent to us". They are such a built-in part of our seeing apparatus
that we do not even know they are there. We look right through them.
Our failure to look at underlying belief systems can lead to disappointing
results. When we examine the underlying assumptions behind our decisions and
actions we reach to the causal level of problem solving. We are able to identify
where there are disconnects in our strategies and take more effective actions.
By learning how to identify our assumptions, we can also explore differences
with others, work to build common ground and consensus, and get to the bottom
of core misunderstandings and differences.
Listening: Key to Perception
Take a minute, right now, to ask yourself for your personal definition
of listening. Think about that activities you identify with listening? How
do you know you are listening? Being listened to? What does listening feel
like? How could your listening be enhanced?
The way we listen, has a lot to do with our capacity to learn and build
quality relationships with others. When we are able to suspend judgment and
listen to diverse perspectives we expand and deepen our world view. It is
the act of listening that allows for integration and synthesis of new insights
and possibilities. When we listen deeply we are willing to be influenced
by and learn from others.
In Dialogue, listening also involves developing our ability to perceive
the meaning arising both at the individual level and within the group. What
assumptions are we hearing, which ones are shared? Listening for shared meaning
informs us about the culture we live in, and presents us with the opportunity
to make choices about our decisions and actions (rather than moving unconsciously,
on auto-pilot).).
Inquiry and Reflection
Inquiry and refection are about learning how to ask questions with the
intention of gaining additional insight and perspective. Through this process
we dig deeply into matters that concern us and create breakthroughs in our
ability to solve problems.
Inquiry elicits information. Reflection permits the inspection of information
and the perception of relationships. The combination of reflection and inquiry
enables us to learn, to think creatively, and to build on past experience
(versus simply repeating the same patterns over and over again).
By learning how to ask questions that lead to new levels of understanding
we accelerate our collective learning. Such questions often begin with "I
wonder...", "what if....", "what does xxx mean to you?" As we ask these questions
and listen, we gain greater awareness into our own and others' thinking processes
and the issues that separate and unit us.
By creating pauses to reflect, we learn to work with silence and slow down
the rate of conversation. We become able to identify assumptions and reactive
patterns and open the door for new ideas and possibilities.
Interlocking Building Blocks: Weaving the Dialogue
Each of the building blocks is an integral part of the Dialogue. They are
living parts, which, like the organs of our bodies, constantly work to support
the form they are part of. In each moment, the building blocks weave both
the context within which the Dialogue unfolds and act as catalysts to support
the unfolding itself. The more consciously we use them, the more they help
us to enter into and sustain the Dialogue.
And, all the skills are interrelated. For example, as we begin to draw
aside the curtains of our judgments, we develop the capacity to speak and
listen without the automatic colouring of past thought patterns. We become
less reactive, more aware of the assumptions through which we filter our observations.
Choosing to suspend these assumptions, we may experiment with expanding the
horizons of our perceptions, increasing the number of points of view available
to us. By creating space to reflect on what we are perceiving, seeking the
next level of inquiry, opening up our senses and listening deeply, with the
intention to discover and understand we enter into Dialogue.
BEHAVIORS THAT SUPPORT DIALOGUE
Suspension of judgement when listening and speaking. When we listen
and suspend judgment we open the door to expanded understanding. When we
speak without judgment we open the door for others to listen to us.
Respect for differences. Our respect is grounded in the belief that
everyone has an essential contribution to make and is to be honored for the
perspective which only they can bring.
Role and status suspension. Again, in dialogue, all participants
and their contributions are absolutely essential to developing an integrated
whole view. No one perspective is more important than any other Dialogue is
about power with, versus power over or power under.
Balancing inquiry and advocacy. In dialogue we inquire to discover
and understand others perspectives and ideas and we advocate to offer our
own for consideration. The intention is to bring forth and make visible assumptions,
relationships and gain new insight and understanding.
We often tend to advocate to convince others of our positions Therefore
a good place to start with this guideline is to practice bringing more inquiry
into the conversation.
Focus on learning. Our intention is to learn to from each other,
to expand our view and understanding, versus evaluate and determine who has
the "best" view.
When we are focused on learning we tend to ask more questions, try new
things. We are willing to disclose our thinking so that we can see both what
is working for us and what we might want to change. We want to hear from
all parties so that we can gain the advantage of differing perspectives.
Published with permission from The Dialogue Group
If you would like to do further reading about dialogue and related areas we suggest the following.
Banathy, Bela H. & Jenlink, Patrick M. Dialogue as a Means of Collective
Communication, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 2005
Bohm, David and Edwards, Mark. Changing Consciousness, Exploring the Hidden
Source of the Social, Political and Environmental Crises Facing our World. Pegasus,
New York, NY. 1992.
Bohm, David. On Dialogue. David Bohm Seminars. Ojai, CA.
Bohm, David. Unfolding Meaning. A weekend of Dialogue with David Bohm. Ark Paperbacks, 1985.
Cook, Scott D.N. and Yanow, Davora. Culture and Organizational Learning. The Journal of Management Inquiry, Vol. 2 No. 4, December 1993.
Freidman, Maurice. Dialogue and the Human Image. Beyond Humanistic Psychology. Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA 1992.
Jawaorski, Joseph. Synchronicity. Berrett-Kohler, San Francisco, CA, 1997.
Johnston, Charles M., M.D. Necessary Wisdom, Meeting the Challenge of a New
Cultural Maturity. ICD Press. Seattle, WA. 1991.
Lindah L, Kay. Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening; SkyLightPaths Publishing.
Woodstock, Vt. 2003
Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Doubleday/Currency, New York. 1990.
Wheatley, Margaret J. Leadership and the New Science. Berrett-Koehler, 1992.
Wheatley, Margaret J. a simpler way. Berrett-Koehler, 1997.
Isaacs, William. Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together. Doubleday, NY, 1999.
Yankelovich's, Daniel. The Magic of Dialogue. Simon and Schuster, NY, 1999.
For more information about the Mind Gliding Professional Management Development Programme, please Click here!