Topics for a Conversation Café
WHAT DO WE TALK ABOUT?
As the host, you get to choose how a topic is generated. You may want to choose the question ahead of time, so you can include the topic in your outreach. Or you may want to allow it to arise from the group right at the time of the gathering. Some hosts begin the conversation with an open ended question such as, “What drew you here?” or “What’s alive in you right now?”, and by the end of the first round a topic begins to emerge. Some hosts invite their guests to a series of conversations around a topic of inquiry. For example, co-founder Vicki Robin invited a group to a three month series of weekly conversations around questions of “Freedom and Limits” during a time when she was developing a workshop around those issues.
There is an art to framing a powerful question and avoiding building in assumptions or bias, so be sure to check out How to Craft Questions.
As the host, you get to choose how a topic is generated. You may want to choose the question ahead of time, so you can include the topic in your outreach. Or you may want to allow it to arise from the group right at the time of the gathering. Some hosts begin the conversation with an open ended question such as, “What drew you here?” or “What’s alive in you right now?”, and by the end of the first round a topic begins to emerge. Some hosts invite their guests to a series of conversations around a topic of inquiry. For example, co-founder Vicki Robin invited a group to a three month series of weekly conversations around questions of “Freedom and Limits” during a time when she was developing a workshop around those issues.
There is an art to framing a powerful question and avoiding building in assumptions or bias, so be sure to check out How to Craft Questions.
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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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