What we do
is more formal than "ordinary" good conversations-more
explicit about its purpose and spirit, and more organised.
We ask people to observe communication guidelines that
foster an exploratory, respectful, and compassionate
spirit. We suggest and can provide a facilitator, whose
main responsibilities are to welcome people and orient
them to the event and its purpose. Then there is a need
to get agreement on a set of guidelines that keep the
conversation 'safe' for participants. As with every
engagement with others, it's easy to forget the frameworks
for the conversation and the agreements, so the facilitator
reminds people about their agreements if they forget
them, and then moves the group through the conversation,
keeping an eye on time.
Time is one of the precious, invisible ingredients.
We structure the conversation and manage the process
of conversing so that the conversation has a solid beginning,
a long enough middle, and a satisfying end within the
time available; and we ensure that all participants
have an equal opportunity to be heard, and that the
dialogue is free from the "domination" or
disproportionate verbosity of its members.
We have modelled our 'Difficult Conversations' programme
by adapting a proven format from The Public Conversations
Project - Guide to Family Dialogue; simply because it
works. More details about PCP are available from their
website - www.publicconversations.org/
Welcome
and Orientation (5 minutes)
Agreements (10 minutes)
Introductions and Hopes (10 minutes)
First Question (20 minutes)
Facilitated Conversation (45 minutes)
Parting Words (15 minutes)
Note: Times
indicated are for a small group of participants, more
time is needed for large groups.
