How to Amplify the Power of Dialogue” by Kimberly Bain, CPF/M

From <The Power of Dialogue- Conversations with Masters> series

(summary by Keli Yen, graphic recorder: Grace Wang)

A good dialogue can enable people to overcome huge obstacles.  But how do we make that magic of dialogue happen?  It requires certain ingredients, and a good facilitator really helps too!

The CP Yen Foundation held a webinar on 1 November 2021 about “How to Amplify the Power of Dialogue”.  The guest speaker was Kimberly Bain, an expert facilitator with decades of experience using dialogue to help large and small groups reach consensus.  This newsletter will give you some highlights of that webinar.

(Read more about Kim’s background and services here: https://www.baingroup.ca/about-us.html)

Why is Dialogue Powerful

South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is evidence of how providing an opportunity for people to tell their stories and share their experiences through dialogue can enable individuals to forgive wounds from the past and to move forward with creating a fresh shared future. 

Dialogue has the potential to solve enormously difficult problems; it does this by enabling people to explore their issues and develop mutual understanding through listening, being, talking, thinking and acting together. 

Our Collective Experience & the Research Confirms that Dialogue can be used for: ● Problem solving ● Conflict resolution ● Future building -● Community building ● Planning  ● Consensus building – ● Innovation development

Just open the daily news and you’ll find ample examples of conflicts in which the magic of dialogue could help to build more consensus.  But how does one create dialogue in difficult circumstances?  Kimberly explains that there are certain ingredients which can help you to get started.

What are the Ingredients for Powerful Dialogue?

Purpose, participation and process are the basic ingredients to a powerful dialogue. 

Purpose means that it should be clear to everyone who’s involved in the dialogue why the meeting is being held and what outcomes are wanted from the process.  Outcomes include how the dialogue might make participants feel and affect their behavior.

Participation means that the meeting host has made sure to invite everyone who ought to be included in the dialogue process and engaged them in a way that they feel ready for a powerful dialogue experience before, during and after the event.

Process means that the whole dialogue procedure is thoughtfully designed to be a comfortable space for participants to speak, be heard, be creative and be able to take-away important outcomes from the experience.

What Can One Do to Amplify the Power of Dialogue?

Everyone participating in a dialogue can help to amplify the power of its impact, but it’s especially important for the meeting host and facilitator to take the lead by following these steps:

Step 1: Set an intention, which provides sense of clarity about what the dialogue is trying to achieve. 

During one of the webinar’s small group discussions we reflected on the difference between a goal and an intention and concluded that a goal is a relatively more formal and externalized objective whereas an intention is a felt as an internal, personal vision of how you want to experience the event.

Step 2: Help participants to engage in the dialogue with an open heart, open ears and open mind, this means trusting the process and each other. Trust can be built by addressing issues which might hinder participants from feeling openness, curiosity and hope, such as their assumptions about the problem, the solution and each other.

Kimberly talked about helping participants get past the “one right answer” bias, setting processes that help participants “listen loudly” and creating a dialogue space that empowers participants to “take off their armor” and be open to all options and possibilities. 

Tip: A “VCR” approach for facilitators to help to build trust and safety even from the start of a meeting.  VCR is an acronym for:

• Visibility – make what’s occurring in the meeting visible, for example by writing important contributions down for all to see. 
• Clarity of the meeting’s process and purpose builds trust.  Participants will appreciate knowing where they are in the process and why it matters for the intended meeting outcome.
• Relationships – manage the power dynamics in the meeting to support the meeting purpose.  For instance, be attentive to whether everyone has a fair opportunity to speak and contribute to the dialogue, and take time to address obstacles to participation.

Step 3: Enable participants to feel hopeful.  If people don’t think positive change is possible, then they will not be invested in making it happen.  It’s important for facilitators to design processes and do the necessary pre-work, such as intention setting and communication, to prepare participants for arriving at the meeting believing that this dialogue will make a difference in their lives. 

 When these ingredients come together then dialogue can have a powerful impact on a challenging situation.  But it’s not magic, it’s a well prepared process that enables people to be with one another in a constructive way.  Although the ingredients can be described in simple terms, they are not necessarily simply done.  So try them out, let us know what you learned from your practice of these methods and how we can help you to further develop your mastery of facilitation!

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2021朝邦文教基金會對話新訊息 – 秋季刊

如何強化對話的力量，Kimberly Bain, CPF/M
摘錄自《對話的力量 – 與大師對話系列》

一段優質的對話可以讓人們克服極大的障礙。但是要如何讓這股對話的魔法出現呢？這其中有一些神奇的成分，而且一個好的引導師也如同神助攻！

朝邦文教基金會於2021 年11月1日舉行的線上分享會《如何強化對話的力量How to Amplify the Power of Dialogue》，由知名引導師Kimberly Bain主講。她是一位極為資深的引導師，在過去數十年來，透過引導協助各種規模的團體達成共識。本季的新訊為各位報導分享會的精彩片段。(您可以在此更了解 Kim的背景與服務內容： https://www.baingroup.ca/about-us.html)

對話為什麼如此強大？

南非真相與和解委員會（Truth and Reconciliation Commission ）就是最好的證明，讓我們知道如果讓人們有機會透過對話敘述自己的故事、分享其經驗，可以促使他們原諒過去的傷痕，向前邁進，一起創造全新、共有的未來。

對話就是有這種潛能，可以解決極為棘手的問題，對話之所以可以做到，就是讓大家一起透過聆聽、感受當下、談話、思考、一起採取行動，藉此探索這些議題，彼此了解。

我們集體的經驗與研究也證實，對話可以用來： ● 解決問題 ● 化解衝突 ● 創造未來 -● 創造社區 ● 共同規劃  ● 建立共識 – ● 創新發展

只要看一下每天的新聞，就能看到許多可以藉由對話的力量來幫助化解衝突、建立共識的範例。只是我們該如何在如此艱困的狀況下展開對話呢？Kimberly進一步 說明有哪些對話的成分可以幫我們開始。

強大對話需要什麼成分？

目的，參與，流程是讓對話更具力量的基礎成分。

所謂目的，就是所有參與對話的人都應該清楚知道為什麼要開會，希望在過程中得到什麼成果。成果也涵蓋讓參與者感到有安全感、可以影響參與者的過程。

所謂參與，就是會議主持者必須確定邀請了所有應該涵蓋在這段對話的所有人，一起參與這過程，讓他們有所準備，並在對話之前、對話期間、對話過程之後都能參與其中。

所謂流程，就是將整個對話全程做好詳細設計，為參與者營造空間，讓他們可以說話、被聽到、發揮創意，並在這段體驗之後，可以帶走重要的收穫。

我們可以怎麼做，強化對話的力量？

對話的所有參與者都可以幫助強化對話的效果，但是對話的主持者和引導者，更是可以主動採取這些步驟：

步驟一：設定對話的意向(intention)，清楚讓大家知道這段對話想要達成的是什麼。

在分享會中，有一小組一起反思目標與意向的差異，大家的結論是相較之下，目標比較正式，是外在設定的目標，而意向是內在的感受，是每個人針對這場活動的體驗有什麼個人的願景。

步驟二：幫助參與者以開放的心、開放的雙耳、開放的態度投入對話。這表示要信任流程，也信任彼此。如果希望加深彼此的信任，可以先針對那些可能影響參與者，使之無法開放心胸、感到好奇、盼望的因素進行討論，例如對於這些問題、解決方案、彼此之間的一些預設立場。

Kimberly也談到如何協助參與者跨過那「只有一個答案」的偏見，設計可以幫助參與者「大聲聆聽」的流程，營造可以讓參與者更有力量的對話空間，讓他們「卸下武裝」，接納所有選項與可能性。

要訣： “VCR” 技巧可以讓引導者幫助在會議的一開始就建立互信與安全感。 VCR是以下重點的縮寫：

• Visibility可見度 – 讓大家看見會議中發生了什麼，像是將重要的想法寫下來，讓大家可以看到。
• Clarity清晰感，當會議的流程與目的如果清楚，就有助於建立互信。參與者一定希望知道自己在流程中的定位，以及流程和會議的期望成果之間的關聯性。
• Relationships關係 – 經營會議的動態，引導會議流程，幫助達到會議的目的。比方說，留意是不是每個人都有公平的機會可以發聲，為這次的對話有所貢獻，也花時間幫助解除參與的障礙。

步驟三：促使參與者感到有希望

如果人們不覺得正向的改變是做得到的，就不會願意投注心力，促使改變的發生。所以很重要的一點，就是引導者必須設計流程，做好必須的前置作業，像是意向的制定與溝通，讓參與者有所準備，在抵達會議之時，相信這段對話會在他們的生命中帶來改變。

當這些成分聚集起來，對話就能對一個挑戰的議題帶來強大的影響。但是也不是魔法，而是一個完善規劃的流程，讓大家可以用有建設性的方式來互動。雖然這些成分可以形容的很簡單，流程卻未必簡單。所以，大家試試看，讓我們知道你在操作這些方法的過程中的學習，也讓我們知道可以如何協助您發展引導的技巧！

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第三屆「對話影響力」表揚日暨工作坊

今年的「對話影響力獎」共有六個單位得獎，讓我們看見到在社會各個角落許多精彩的對話結果，在頒獎典禮當天除了將正式揭曉「對話影響力獎」金、銀、銅的得獎單位之外，也將有所有得獎者的短講分享，以及下午的公投對話體驗活動，我們相信這一年一度的對話日，因為有您的參與讓對話更豐富，因為有您的對話讓我們的世界更永續。 

日期：12月4日（星期六）
時間：上午9:00～12:00; 下午1:30~4:30
主辦單位：財團法人朝邦文教基金會

協辦單位：EMBA雜誌、文化事業學會、國立政治大學社科院

地點：臺北市信義區菸廠路88號6樓D廳 （臺北文創大樓）

費用：免費

實體與線上報名：https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/dia20211204

#第三屆對話影響力表揚日

#對話力工作坊: <公投對話：對話公投-在同意與不同意之前的對話實踐>