People in conversation

Outline for Dialogue with Experts in the Room

Published

How many issues in our public discourse have become too big and complex for most people to fully understand? How often are people expected to have opinions about topics in class or conversation that feel overwhelming and unapproachable without expertise?

People in the midst of dialogues and deliberation often long for facts and information. At the same time, we know that more facts are not the savior we hope they will be. People with all the same facts still disagree about how to assemble and make sense of them, and about what to do in response.

This resource contains an outline of a Reflective Structured Dialogue process that makes space for participants to hear from a topic expert—and still allows people to bring their life experiences, values, identities, and dilemmas into the conversation, to more deeply understand the topic, themselves, and one another.

If you feel the need for more support in leading difficult dialogues in your educational, community, or institutional context, reach out to us for a free consultation call.

Author(s)

John Sarrouf