Dialogue Final Paper Excerpt 3: Restoring a Dialogue

Another excerpt from my final paper for the Winter Dialogue course.

Restoring a dialogue is a reference to how you might help re-orient a dialogue that is going in an unhealthy direction.

Excerpt 3: Restoring a Dialogue

A number of approaches can help restore a dialogue. One of the most powerful approaches is to simply name what is happening. Naming a situation gives participants the opportunity to honestly reflect on how the dialogue process is going. Often participants are already aware of the dynamics of a dialogue, and simply need “permission” to share their perspectives and ideas for moving forward. Making a dynamic explicit gives participants an opportunity to share their feelings directly, and empowers the group to move the dialogue in a healthy direction.

Another powerful tool in dialogue is silence. Common social experience discourages silence, conditioning us to fill every empty space. Encouraging participants to embrace silence, to let the conversation flow and ebb with natural, healthy pauses, gives participants an opportunity to reflect on the process and creates potential for new ideas and direction. Accepting silence also frees participants to experience the energy and wholeness of the dialogue, which is sometimes clearest when no one is speaking at all.