A discussion is an exchange of words; a dialogue is an unfolding of new thought.\u00a0\u00a0 Dialogue is a conversation where people learn from each other, where there are as many questions asked as there are answers given.\u00a0 It shapes thinking and creates new ideas.\u00a0 One flaw in many meetings is the premeditated avoidance of dialogue<\/p>\n
Meetings are often designed to avoid conflict\u00a0by how the participation is structured and the agenda constructed. \u00a0If there is conflict the meeting is often facilitated to be a discussion rather than a dialogue. \u00a0When conflict is present the\u00a0discussion \u00a0is much like a debate where people assert and defend their positions. \u00a0Who \u201cwins\u201d is based on how well arguments were made rather than the merit of the arguments themselves. \u00a0Often no one wins because the intent of most meetings is to formulate a plan for the group and coordinate its execution, which requires dialogue. \u00a0\u00a0After a debate many leave the room without any idea what they\u2019re supposed to do next.<\/p>\n
Dialogue by definition will have surprises, and often will change minds, shift attitudes and create something new. \u00a0Yet, meetings are often designed to avoid surprises. \u00a0How would a team improve their meetings over time if\u00a0a simple outcome measure were the number of\u00a0minds and opinions\u00a0changed?<\/p>\n
Inquiry is at the essence of dialogue; inquiry that surfaces ideas, perceptions and understandings that weren\u2019t present previously. \u00a0How would a team change the structure of their meetings if a simple process measure were\u00a0the number of\u00a0questions asked?<\/p>\n
Increasing the number of questions requires\u00a0balancing advocacy with inquiry.\u00a0 Advocacy is our human default mode at meetings and during conversations (i.e. we defend and assert our opinions, the opinions we walked in with).\u00a0 It\u2019s nearly impossible to eliminate it.\u00a0 Yet, if advocacy can be balanced with inquiry then dialogue will emerge.\u00a0 The more people who have a questioning attitude the more likely that balance will be struck.\u00a0 This is why whom you hire and the culture you inculcate matter.\u00a0 If you hire stubborn, opinionated, arrogant know-it-alls, then achieving dialogue will be extremely difficult.\u00a0 If the culture you foster is one of competition and authority, dialogue will be hard.<\/p>\n
When was the last time you had a dialogue about something?\u00a0 When was the last time you asked clarifying and exploratory questions at a meeting?\u00a0 When was the last time you changed your mind about something?\u00a0 If the answer to any of these questions is not in the last 24 hours, then ask yourself, \u201chow open am I to learning from others and seeing things differently?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A discussion is an exchange of words; a dialogue is an unfolding of new thought.\u00a0\u00a0 Dialogue is a conversation where people learn from each other, where there are as many questions asked as there are answers given.\u00a0 It shapes thinking and creates new ideas.\u00a0 One flaw in many meetings is the premeditated avoidance of dialogue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=279"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions\/280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadingachildrenshospital.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}