Dialogue Final Paper Excerpt 1: The Purpose of Dialogue

I took a winter class on Dialogue, which I've mentioned in a number of posts. Our final project was a paper summarizing many of our thoughts about dialogue. The paper made for a nice overview of my perspective on dialogue, so I thought I'd post a few excerpts here.

Excerpt 1: The purpose of Dialogue

Dialogue allows a group to transcend their fragmented perspectives to create something new, a unique wholeness greater than their individual contributions. Dialogue creates a safe space where participants can share their true voices. This openness allows the group to begin developing common understanding and a shared voice. The dialogue experience nurtures this voice, moving the group to a point where they can actually “think together.”

Dialogue represents a level of discourse that we rarely experience in our society. The majority of our conversations are rushed, limited and lacking in meaning. Dialogue is a way to challenge this dynamic, to foster the sincere sharing that allows a group to find common meaning. Dialogue allows us to connect and grow together in a way that we almost all desire, but rarely experience.