Conversation Café Agreements:
- Open-mindedness: Listen to and respect all points of view.
- Acceptance: Suspend judgment as best you can.
- Curiosity: Seek to understand rather than persuade.
- Discovery: Question assumptions, look for new insights.
- Sincerity: Speak from your heart and personal experience.
- Brevity: Go for honesty and depth but don’t go on and on.
Conversation Café Process
- Assemble up to 8 people plus host, hearty topic, a talking object, and time (60-90 min.). Host explains process and agreements.
- Round 1: Pass around the talking object; each person speaks briefly to the topic, no feedback or response.
- Round 2: Again with talking object, each person deepens their own comments or speaks to what has meaning now.
- Dialogue: Open, spirited conversation. Use talking object if there is domination, contention, or lack of focus.
- Final Round: With talking object, each person says briefly what challenged, touched or inspired them.
Questions to Go Deeper
- What happened that led you to this point of view?
- How does this affect you personally?
- I’m curious, can you say more about that…
- Here’s what I heard…is that what you mean?
Congratulations!
Choosing to host a conversation provides a powerful way to make a difference in our world, to build community, and to enhance collective intelligence. Plus it offers you a stimulating opportunity for learning and growth.
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Did You Know?
Conversation Café was stewarded for the past decade by Community Action Dialogues -- a group dedicated to building a community of dialogue in the Richmond, VA area. They recently passed the torch of stewardship to the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD). |
Contact Us
Connect with NCDD's Izzy Henry if you have questions about Conversation Café or would like to get involved. We also encourage EVERYONE to complete this brief survey to let us know about your work/interest in Conversation Cafe! |
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