Join fellow Dialogue and Discussion champions from London to Lagos, for small group and Open Space conversations that matter. NCDD member, Ron Gross shared an event called Conversation Day hosted by Conversations New York. The event takes place Saturday, June 11, 2022 from 2-4pm Eastern. 

Let's share what we've learned -- and our hopes moving forward! Come share your experiences, concerns and wisdom. Join us for an afternoon of bracing comradeship, mutual support, and intellectual stimulation. 

Discussion Topics:
1. What’s one of the most significant experiences you have had this year, in coping with the multiple crises we have endured? 
2. What have you learned about yourself? 
3. What are some ways that you expect or hope that our your society will be different, as we resume our lives?
4. What will you do differently going forward – personally, socially, professionally, or politically?

Don't forget to register for the free webinar introducing a model for Bohm-inspired Dialogue on Friday, June 3rd. This 90-minute event will be held at 1 PM EDT/10 AM PDT. Register today!

During this webinar, you will learn how the co-authors, Linda Ellinor & Glenna Gerard, of Dialogue: Rediscover the Transforming Power of Conversation (1998, John Wiley & Sons), one of the most comprehensive books based on the work of the late David Bohm (1917 - 1992), came to develop their model of Bohm-inspired Dialogue.   Their book has now been translated into 5 languages and is available as a down-loadable e-book.​

You will learn or experience the following:

• How they came to know of David Bohm’s proposal of Dialogue and the world view from which it originates. 
• A definition of Bohm-inspired Dialogue and how it differs from other forms of conversation such as deliberation and discussion
• Why Dialogue is becoming ever more important in our crisis-ridden world today
• How Dialogue enhances decision-making and leads to aligned collective action
• The essential skills and guidelines for effective Dialogue
• A small-group experience of one of the core skills of Dialogue:  Inquiry & Reflection
• An overview of their current programs: 

          Foundational History and Skills of Dialogue
          Dialogue Application, Design  Facilitation

​This session is FREE and open to all interested in learning more about this powerful approach to dialogue. Register today to join us!

Students spend most of their days in school. Naturally, when national events occur, this extends the teachers regular duties to the role of  “first responders”. This publication from Essential Partners was adapted for the classroom from their Reflective Structured Dialogue, and is offered as a tool for teachers to create a space of self- reflection, deep listening and open sharing in the classroom.  The prompts and guidelines to consider, proactively invite the students to process crisis in a healthy way.
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Read about the structure and prompts offered below or find the original post here.

​NCDD Member Michael Freedman of Practical Academics shared the following blog post with us. In the post, Michael shares best practices for your online meetings – a timely topic for this moment! We encourage you to check out the article below, or over at the Practical Academics site here.

​Online Meeting Best Practices
The advantages of online meetings are to save travel time, convenience, and flexibility while retaining or augmenting the benefits of group interactivity. For interactivity, we need engagement; for engagement, we need encouragement and trust.  A one-way webinar is not a lot better than a video or a one-to-many lecture. Here are some points to consider in developing and running an interactive online meeting.

A NCDD Listserv synopsis of the conversation entitled: How to pick stakeholders for a stakeholder dialogue

Listserv Contributors: Tom Altee, Adrian Segar, Peter Jones, Marjo Curgus, Peggy Holman, Chris Santos-Lang, Betsy Morris, Eric Simley, and Sally Theilacker

Synopsis by: Annie Rappeport, NCDD Intern

“The approach to stakeholder selection is the most critical step in the design of fair and inclusive dialogues that reflect a community’s contributions and perspectives” ~ Peter Jones, NCDD Member

​In your dialogue and deliberation work do you find yourself struggling as much about who to invite to a dialogue as how to set the agenda?

By Lydia Hooper

How many conversations have you had this week about something you saw, on TV or happening in front if you? Vision is the primary way we sense and experience our world, and we are social beings who process information with others. We can easily leverage these tendencies if we want to inspire specific conversations in specific moments.

​The conventional way of doing so is using presentation slides or videos to introduce or explain important topics. These visual forms, however, emphasize what is important from the perspective of the presenter. They do not necessarily offer opportunities to capture what a larger group of people thinks or feels.

In part one of We Are All Catalysts, the focus was on examples of groups in dialogue in deliberation who showcase how our powerful inner sparks can be used to transform conversations and communities. In part two, we want to follow up and have all of you help guide our continued conversations!

“It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much.” ~ Yogi Berra

​We live in a world of noise. Many of us lament at the current environment of ideological polarization that hinders respectful and productive conversation. We have the power to break through this noise and create spaces for listening and thoughtful dialogue. It can seem daunting in the current ways of the world, but the tools are accessible and the need critical.

“After all, the ordinary hero hiding in each of us is often the most powerful catalyst for change.” ~ Tate Taylor

​We all have a spark within and we choose every day how we will or will not use our spark. In our NCDD community, we spark conversations–dialogues that change hearts and minds and steadily change the world. Our sparks can be small or big, but we must work intentionally to ensure that the sparks catch fire. What do I mean by this? I mean that it is up to us, as those working firsthand in the creations of spaces for dialogue and deliberation, that we do not work in isolation. Like the catalysts in science, we must interact with others to create the chemistry worth having in our world.

Earlier this week, NCDD hosted a special post-election Confab Call during which over fifty of our members and affiliates had a rich, inspiring, and for some, therapeutic conversation about what kind of work people in the dialogue and deliberation field are doing to address this post-election moment.
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The call was part of our ongoing #BridgingOurDivides campaign, during which we’ve been encouraging our members to share about the work happening in our field that’s aimed at fostering bridge building, and to share resources that can build capacity to move forward together despite differences. The Confab Call was its own kind of resource, and if you missed the call, you can hear about all the great projects, insights, and resources that were discussed during it by reading over the discussion and links from the call’s chat transcription here. NCDD members who missed this event can watch the recording by clicking here. But there are many more resources we want to share with you all today.