Dialogue is an approach to organisational interaction developed initially by the physicist David Bohm. The following briefly describes the differences between discussion and dialogue:
| Dialogue | Discussion |
| Starts with listening | Starts with speaking |
| Is about speaking with | Is about speaking to |
| Focuses on insights | Focuses on differences |
| Is collaborative | Is adversarial |
| Generates ideas | Generates conflicts |
| Encourages reflection | Encourages quick thinking |
| Encourages emergence | Encourages lock-in |
A key paper on dialogue by David Bohm, Donald Factor & Peter Garrett, Dialogue: A Proposal is widely available on the internet.
Sherryl and Patrick Stalinski offer a free booklet, The Dialogue Kit, which they describe as a starter resource for learning why, what, who, where, when, and how to practice dialogue. Available as a pdf file it offers an approach to working with dialogue in small groups (5 - 15 people).
William Isaacs, director of the MIT dialogue project, is also interested in dialogue though his approach is somewhat different from Bohm’s. Using ideas from Donald Kantor, a family systems therapist, Isaacs offers a ‘four player model’ of conversation:
|
Bystand |
|
Move |
|
Follow |
|
Oppose |
|
vWithout Movers
there is no Direction
vWithout
Followers there is no Completion
vWithout Opposers
there is no Correction
vWithout
Bystanders there is no Perspective |
Any effective conversation has four aspects, or roles. Although each of us has a preferred role, we can play all of them. The art of good conversation is to find the right balance between roles; if one dominates, conversation will be stilted and ineffective. Dialogue tends to break down if one or more of the participants gets ‘stuck’ in a role or if patterns arise which exclude one or more of the roles.
Isaacs also writes about Argyris & Schön’s distinction
(1978) between ‘inquiry’ and ‘advocacy. Inquiry requires bystanding and
following; advocacy requires a good balance between moving and opposing. An
effective leader will work to find a balance between inquiry and advocacy in
conversations.
Bystand
Bystand
|
Move |
|
Follow |
|
Oppose |
|
Inquiry |
|
Advocacy |
Isaacs offers four conversational skills which can help each of the four roles to be more effective. Learning to voice effectively is important if we are to be heard by others in the conversation; the better we can listen the more effective we will be in the role of following; respect for the other participants is key if we are to oppose in a constructive way, keeping the conversational flow intact; and finally, it is essential for the bystander that we are able to suspend our own ideas and opinions in such a way that both we and others can examine them and see their strengths and weaknesses.
|
Bystand |
|
Move |
|
Follow |
|
Oppose |
|
Respecting |
|
Voicing |
|
Listening |
|
Suspending |
You can find out more about William Isaac's approach to dialogue in his book . There is also a good introductory article on Dialogic Leadership which was published in The Systems Thinker, vol. 10, no. 1 (1999).
Another approach to dialogue is Anthony Blake's N-logue. More information can be found on his website.
The Table is an attempt to conduct an online dialogue in David Bohm's style.