Alternatives to Debate/Was Re: Open Space in the European Community

[Diana Larsen]

Hi All,

Time to stop lurking, I guess. ;-)

When the purpose of a gathering (or that part of a gathering) is to 
explore ideas more than it is to make decisions, I create an additional 
flip chart poster with four continua. As I open space (notice the lower 
case) for groups, I extend the invitation to focus on:
- inquiry rather than advocacy
- discussion rather than debate
- conversation rather than argument
- understanding rather than defending

Participants have come to me to say that it helped them for me to make 
this distinction in the kinds of possible discourse. They hadn't 
thought about the fact that they had options to choose from when they 
interacted on topics about which they felt passion.

Peace!
Diana

Diana Larsen
www.futureworksconsulting.com   503-288-3550

I'll be at the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference in 
Portland OR USA, Oct 10-12, 2005. They are ready to accept 
registrations! Sign up now for a great conference:
   http://www.pnsqc.org
   http://www.pnsqc.org/conference05/workshops.php

Other Upcoming Events:
- Open Workshop with Diana Larsen, Esther Derby & Ken Schwaber
   "The Secrets of  Agile Teamwork: Beyond Technical Skills"
    Dec. 6-8, 2005, Portland OR USA
    http://www.futureworksconsulting.com/events.html


On Sep 29, 2005, at 9:29 AM, Harrison Owen wrote:

> Very good point! I have just been invited to facilitate a gathering of 
> 200
> Rabbis and Imams from around the world -- on the question "Issues and
> Opportunities for enabling peace between Jews and Muslims" (At least I 
> think
> that is the question). And that nasty word "debate" came up in our
> discussions of how to write the invitation. I can certainly understand 
> how
> it jumps up -- given everybody's history. But it really is a bummer. 
> We do
> need to think of some alternatives. "Engaged Conversation" might head 
> in a
> more fruitful direction. And other possibilities would be wonderful.
>
> Harrison
>
> Harrison Owen
> 7808 River Falls Drive
> Potomac, Maryland   20845
> Phone 301-365-2093
>
> Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
> Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
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