People’s response to the partisan divide: rising citizen capacity
Deliberations are an approach
Bringing People Together
Reflection and Moving Toward Action
Be Curious and Open to Learning
Listen to and be open to hearing all points of
People’s response to the partisan divide: rising citizen capacity
Deliberations are an approach
Bringing People Together
Reflection and Moving Toward Action
Be Curious and Open to Learning
Listen to and be open to hearing all points of view. Maintain an attitude of exploration and learning. Conversation is as much about listening as it is about talking.
Show Respect and Suspend Judgment
Human beings tend to judge one another, do your best not to. Setting judgments aside will better enable you to learn from others and allow them to feel respected and appreciated.
Look for Common Ground
In this conversation, we look for what we agree on and simply appreciate that we will disagree on some beliefs and opinions.
Be Authentic and Welcome that from Others
Share what’s important to you. Speak authentically from your personal and heartfelt experience. Be considerate to others who are doing the same.
Be Purposeful and to the Point
Notice if what you are conveying is or is not “on purpose” to the question at hand. Notice if you are making the same point more than once.
Take responsibility for the quality of your participation and the quality of the conversation by noticing what’s happening and actively support getting yourself and others back “on purpose” when needed.
The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation is a primary umbrella group organization that has information on hundreds of deliberative organizations and techniques. Their "resources" link on the top menu leads you to an informative search screen.
The National Issues Forum is one of the oldest and most respected deliberative organizations. They produce 3-4 national issues each year, and host numerous trainings. Local NIF "Public Policy Institutes" also produce local issue books that may be useful. A few of the national books are available online as PDFs (others can be ordered), while most of the local books are free online. The direct link to the list of local issue books is located at: https://www.nifi.org/en/nifi-materials
The Kettering Foundation is an operating foundation rooted in the American tradition of inventive research. The central question behind the foundation's research is: What does it take to make democracy work as it should? Rather than look for ways to improve on politics as usual, Kettering researchers and others involved in their higher learning exchanges seek ways to make fundamental changes in how democratic politics are practiced. The foundation published several journals, reports, and books on deliberative democracy, many available online for free downloads.
Like NIF, Everyday Democracy is a well respected national organization known for its high quality issue books and tested deliberative methods. Their books are also available free online (topics such as racism, diversity, poverty, and public education).