Once you have a basic understanding of the policy possibility—what it says and what it doesn’t—the next step is to understand why someone might actually propose it. In order to do this, you will typically need to go beyond the description of the policy possibility, which typically says what the possibility would do but not … Read more »
Read More challenges, citizen discussions, communication skills, creativity, deliberation, personal development, reasoning skillsElection time is probably the time when people hear and talk about policy the most. So you may feel that you have already heard way too much about policy debates in recent months. And you may feel—just like me—completely disgusted with all the negative campaign ads, and their denigration of their opponents’ policies. The worst … Read more »
Read More citizen discussions, civic engagement, conceptual possibilities, deliberation, democracy, discussion process, Discussion Reports, facilitation, personal development, Public DiscussionsWhen Robert Frost was asked ‘What is poetry?’ he replied ‘Poetry is the kind of thing that poets write’. A natural response to such a definition might be a knowing smile and a barrage of questions that try to get at the core of what poetry is or what it might be. This is one … Read more »
Read More art, contrasting possibilities, creativity, personal developmentColleague Jeff Prudhomme and I spent this last weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Central States Communication Association Conference at the invitation of 2009 Summer Institute participant Professor Laura Black. We were there to participate in a “beyond the town hall” discussion, with a focus on “best practices” in civic engagement. We gave them a … Read more »
Read More civic engagement, communication skills, discussion process, facilitation, learning by doing, personal developmentDifference is a fundamental fact of human life. There is similarity too. But difference is the reason why we need to have discussions about public policy. It is also the reason why they should occur face-to-face, over extended periods of time, and with the assistance of a skilled but neutral facilitator. If we all agreed … Read more »
Read More attitude, conversations, governance, personal development, reasoning skillsDuring the last few weeks of my IF course, I have been struggling to understand just how well students are developing discussion and facilitation skills. Even though students have engaged in several weeks of discussion, some members dominate the conversation more than others, sometimes they talk over one another, some facilitators stick to their outline … Read more »
Read More communication skills, personal developmentSo much of what goes on under the name of political discussion is aimed at persuading people to accept certain public policies. And so much of what goes on in facilitated public policy discussions is aimed at bringing a group to consensus. This is not the aim of IF’s sanctuary and citizen discussions. We believe … Read more »
Read More civic engagement, deliberation, discussion process, educational implications, personal developmentSome people think there’s something magical or mystical about IF-style citizen discussions. Others think they’re just plain mysterious. They are none of these things. In fact, they’re a lot like the kind of thing most of us do on our own when faced with difficult and important personal or family decisions. Consider the following decision, … Read more »
Read More citizen discussions, communication skills, conversations, personal development, Public DiscussionsWhen people are invited to take part in one of the Interactivity Foundation’s Public Discussions they often wonder what effect this could have if we meet with just a small group of citizens, perhaps just six or seven people, in sessions here or there around the country. What good will this do? What could it … Read more »
Read More attitude, citizen discussions, educational implications, generosity, personal development, Public Discussions, student success
