Dialogue Design & Facilitation
One conversation has the power to build trust, understanding, belonging, healing, and community.
Why can’t we just talk to each other?
It seems polarization and division are everywhere – on social media, in our city councils and board meetings and religious congregations. Stereotyping, “us-against-them” language and judgement-filled communications impact our well being and ability to work together in community for the greater good.
Division and incivility is wearing us out. A University of Nebraska analysis determined the political landscape in the United States is an inescapable source of chronic stress and depression among U.S. adults.
And yet, what U.S. citizens say they want is understanding. A Public Agenda poll shows that 72% of Americans believe that a stronger emphasis on mutual understanding would be “better for the nation.”
So how can we build understanding?
What is Dialogue?
Dialogue is a process of having a conversation with a certain purpose in mind. It could be about politics or an issue affecting a group or community. It could be about any issue on people’s minds including free speech, LGBTQ rights, cancel culture, the environment, women’s health or how to move forward together after a divisive election cycle. Most importantly, the structure ensures equity and helps all participants feel seen, heard and understood.
Collaboration first. Working with a diverse group of representatives from your community, we collaborate with you to design and lead facilitated conversations about the things that matter to people in your organization. These small group conversations ensure equity and create a respectful space for civil discourse and honest interactions.
Elements of Dialogue
It starts with purpose. Every dialogue has a purpose statement that is created collaboratively with stakeholders in the community. A purpose statement informs the intention and goals of each conversation.
Our structure invites open, honest sharing. Olive Branch dialogues follow the Reflective Structured Dialogue approach created by Essential Partners. This model creates space for people to speak their minds from their perspective, listen deeply and build trust and understanding. It disrupts patterns of stereotyping and one or more people dominating the conversation. Instead, the focus is on personal values, stories and ideas.
A dialogue involves
- A trained facilitator to keep the conversation moving
- A set of shared agreements or norms to provide guidelines for the conversation
- Equal time for each speaker to ensure everyone has a chance to be heard and seen
- Carefully designed questions to invite participants’ thoughtful reflections,deeply held values, hopes, fears and personal stories.
