From Debate to Dialogue : Using the Understanding Process to Transform Our Conversations

This book provides a direct method called the "Understanding Process" for moving us from debate into dialogue about any issue, especially difficult or controversial ones. As an alternative to debate in which we seek to win or be right, when we use the Understanding Process we make an effort to understand others from within their frame of reference. We also learn ways to speak our own truths without polarizing issues, invalidating others and fostering defensiveness. A key to practicing the Understanding Process is the knowledge that understanding someone from their point of view does not necessarily mean agreeing with them. Nor does deeply understanding another perspective require that we surrender our own beliefs and values.

Replete with examples and case studies that illustrate the transforming potential of the Understanding Process approach to dialogue, this book shows how we can: * Convert conflict into understanding, * Increase our confidence and competence in dealing with difficult situations, * Improve relationships at work and home, * Enhance respectfulness and civility in our public conversations without sacrificing truthfulness, * Express different points of view without becoming polarized, * Replace destructive stereotyping of each other with understanding and concern, * Listen so that positive change occurs, and * Create innovative inspired solutions.