Dialogue

We are strong advocates for the use of dialogue as a method for sustained group inquiry, and it is one of the most powerful tools we use at the Whole Thinking Retreats. Praticed well, dialogue can allow a group to discover insights that aren’t attainable individually. It helps participants in a group to think together by asking them to listen fully, without resisting ideas, and to suspend assumptions about others in the room. Above all, it allows practitioners to seek truth together, reveal collective illusion, inquire into what is true, re-establish common sense, and harness collective intelligence.

Resources

The Dialogue Group: formed by Linda Ellinor and Glenna Gerard in 1991 to research, develop, and facilitate dialogue in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. The Dialogue Group provides a range of services to help organizations bring the principles and benefits of dialogic communication to their day-to-day activities.

Our "Introduction to Dialogue," given to each retreat participant, is heavily influenced by Ellinoor and Gerard's writing. Download PDF

The Society for Organizational Learning: this website has many useful resources, including a piece on Listening and Dialogue.