Dialogue Skills

Dialogue. We have suddenly gone beyond ordinary conversation and are now beginning to hear, truly understand, learn from each other, and create together as we share authentic expression.

We are thinking together, meaning now flows freely, and we are learning from the transformation that is dialogue. Definitions Through Words, Thinking Together, A synthesis and interweaving of ideas, A flow of meaning, Interchange among thoughtful peers. Root: Dia Logus, “Through Words” Dialogue is the creative thinking together that can emerge when genuine empathetic listening, respect for all participants, safety, peer relationships, suspending judgment, sincere inquiry, courageous speech, and discovering and disclosing assumptions work together to guide our conversations. Related Terms Toward Dialogue. How to Lead Transformational Conversations [Podcast] Welcome to Season 3, Episode 11 of the This Is Your Life podcast.

In this eleventh episode, Michele Cushatt and I discuss how you can lead transformational conversations. A new model of leadership has emerged over the last several years that is more about dialogue than the traditional model. But it’s not always intuitive and it takes some practice. Here are ten practical strategies you can use to gain greater influence. How To Build Conversations That Create Innovative Ideas. When Lori Senecal offered KBS+ employees a course in venture capital several years ago, the then-CEO wasn’t suggesting they quit to start their own companies.

She wanted to ignite their entrepreneurial mojo so they could shape the ad agency’s business model. Tapping employees to create change is a notion that has been around since managers set up suggestion boxes in break rooms. But turning employees into innovators takes a lot more than collecting a bunch of random ideas on a whiteboard or giving an inspiring speech.

Almost 20 years ago, in Leading Change, John Kotter estimated that only a third of change programs succeeded. Despite the avalanche of books, B-school courses and consultants that followed, a McKinsey & Co. survey in 2008 repeated those numbers. The Art Of Strategic Conversation Leaders might be better off mastering the art of strategic conversation. Strategic conversations are two-way exchanges that are structured by management to elicit relevant ideas. Strategy for All. Generative Conversations. Advocacy and Inquiry: Key Components of Dialogue. Dialogue: Its Component Parts The first step in dialogue is balancing Advocacy and Inquiry.

Instead of making statements about what we believe, begin asking questions about what others believe. This is in accord with a principle articulated by Saint Francis and popularized by Stephen Covey: “Seek first to understand; and then to be understood.” When I attack your position and repeat my own, I strengthen your attachment to your position. How do you balance advocacy and inquiry? Step back. The Rewards Building rapport Building business relationships Extending your influence Tips for improved advocacy: What to do State your assumptions, and describe the data that led to them. What to say "Here's what I think, and here's how I got there. " Tips for improved inquiry: Gently walk others through their thinking process and find out from which data they are operating. "What leads you to conclude that? "

Balancing Inquiry and Advocacy. Rick Ross, Charlotte Roberts Managers in Western corporations have received a lifetime of training in being forceful, articulate "advocates" and "problem solvers.

" They know how to present and argue strongly for their views. But as people rise in the organization, they are forced to deal with more complex and interdependent issues where no one individual "knows the answer, and where the only viable option is for groups of informed and committed individuals to think together to arrive at new insights. At this point, they need to learn to skillfully balance advocacy with inquiry. When balancing advocacy and inquiry, we lay out our reasoning and thinking, and then encourage others to challenge us. Balancing inquiry and advocacy is sometimes hard on people's cherished opinions, which is one reason why it is so difficult to master. We don't recommend inquiry alone. This palette chart, of course, is only the beginning of a taxonomy of the roles which people can play in conversation. 1. 2. 3.

What's Your Communication Style? Advocacy & Inquiry. Advocacy & Inquiry. Inquiry & Advocacy. Advocacy & Inquiry. The Spirit of Inquiry. Institute for Inquiry: A Description of Inquiry. Inquiry Institute. Model I & Model II. Model I and Model II. Governing Values.