“Small groups exploring common questions and learning that others are doing the same, has always been the locus for large scale transformative change.” ~Juanita Brown

The Art of Conversation

One of the ways we access wisdom is through conversation and dialogue. Physicist, David Bohm who devoted his last years to the investigation of dialogue, proposed that “a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces society, and indeed the whole of human nature and consciousness today.
Moreover, it may turn out that such a form of free exchange of ideas and information is of fundamental relevance for transforming culture and freeing it of destructive misinformation, so that creativity can be liberated.” Bohm’s approach to dialogue is described here.
The World Café model originated by Juanita Brown. Brown notes that
… human conversation had always been the crucible for social invention — the birthing place of new ideas, new ways of being and new ways of doing… From circles of elders around ancient campfires, to the sewing circles and ‘committees of correspondence’ that birthed the American Republic, to the conversations in the Cafes and salons that spawned the French Revolution, people have always gathered for real conversation about questions that matter. From the ‘study circles’ which contributed to the economic and social renaissance in Sweden in the early 1900’s to the ‘quality circles’ that revitalized Japanese business and industry nearly half a century later, we can see the same deep pattern and core processes of human organizing at play.
Small groups exploring common questions and learning that others are doing the same, has always been the locus for large scale transformative change. Margaret Mead, who studied social systems and cultural change all over the globe, remarked, ‘Never doubt that small groups of committed people can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.’
Through conversation we gather together and talk about things that matter. The wisdom circle experience slows down the conversation and allows our collective wisdom to bubble up. The key to meaningful conversation is to begin by asking questions.
The World Café asks what if…?
* The future is born in webs of human conversation?
* Compelling questions encourage collective learning?
* Networks are the underlying pattern of living systems?
* Human systems–organizations, families, communities–are living systems?
* Intelligence emerges as the system connects to itself in diverse and creative ways?
* Collectively, we have access to all the wisdom and resources we need?
The Principles of the World Café
* Create Hospitable Space
* Explore Questions That Matter
* Connect Diverse People and Ideas
* Encourage Each Person’s Contribution
* Listen Together for Patterns, Insights and Deeper Questions
* Make Collective Knowledge Visible