The Benefits Of Engaging In Dialogue Facilitation

By William Green


What does the word dialogue mean to you. No doubt that this is a much overused and hackneyed term. Whatever the case, it is usually being categorized along the same lien as communication and interaction. It entails listening, understanding, being open minded, withholding judgment, and focusing on interest rather than speeding up solutions. Needless to say, all of these seem like a pie in the sky thinking. In the end, it all boils down to the result rather than the ways and the means. Learn about dialogue facilitation.

There are many facets to dialogue. In fact, it is among the most general terms of all the general nouns out there. It may involve communication, it may involve exchange, discussion, discourse, small talk. It may be heartfelt, or else cursory, it can be serious or light.

To this end, it is also essential to highlight the differences between the 3Ds, discussion, debate, and dialogue. To start off, a discussion is really more on the presentation of ideas. Debating, on the other hand, entails a win or lose mentality. Theres a lot of stressful disagreements, with the parties involved defending their own respective opinions to the death. Especially in formal settings, the validity of feelings is questioned, looked down upon, and thereafter discounted. People listen with the objective of having something to counter afterward, and it involves the disregarding of relationships.

Needless to say, these prejudices do away with the possibility of creating constructive communications. That bodes ill to progress and development. It can be especially demeaning because with all kinds of conflictive issues, positive discourse should constantly be placed at the forefront.

Really, that DOES sound like a pie in the sky thinking. However, that is where dialogue facilitators come in. Needless to say, theyve got a tough steak cut out for them, and they need all the strength and skills that theyve got to wangle with it.

Good facilitation skills are another nub for discussion. In constructive communication, one aims to comprehend the views and perspectives about the other party. They openly listen and dissect how their experiences shape their convictions. They will also need to keep an open mind, accepting the beliefs of others as valid and real.

Next, they should know how to formulate good questions. That will set the stage for the participants to open up and move towards each other. They should give prompts that would give way to discussions of everyones fears, needs, and interests. On a personal level, they must evince integrity. They must have an innate understanding of the group dynamics as well, and that involves zeroing down to the individual elements.

This does not involve the curbing of ones sentiments and feelings. People are still given free rein to express their sadness, anger, and resentments. This is also effective and expressive in conveying the sincerity and intensity of feelings, experiences, and beliefs. It is the reception of these that should be accurately managed and controlled.

The constructive results of dialogue are quite easy to actuate with a little bit of tweaking. If only the remarks were substantive, with fewer people, with ample open spaces, more coffee brakes, the particularities go on and on. However, all these will be successfully toggled and juggled by a good facilitator, so you had better hand it to them.




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