If you are looking for a process that invites dialogue, is highly engaging, and encourages diverse viewpoints, consider using the World Café.
I recently participated in a World Café process with 11 others from my city, Des Moines, Iowa, to dialogue about Des Moines becoming a compassionate city.
This highly engaging and provoking process can be used in any setting – business, nonprofit organizations, faith communities, and civic organizations. Paramount to the process is allowing for diverse viewpoints to be expressed in a respectful and safe manner.
Here is how the process worked for our dialogue about becoming a compassionate city.
- Define a dialogue purpose: To explore what it is to be compassionate, how to live compassionately, and how to create a compassionate community.
- Develop three dialogue questions:
- What does being compassionate mean?
- What does living compassionately look like for ourselves, family, neighborhoods and groups?
- How do we create a compassionate community for our organizations, businesses and city?
- Conduct three, 20 minute rounds of dialogue in three small groups (four per group). Each round discusses a different question with new participants at the tables.
- At the end, harvest insights and results which provide the impetus for next steps.
Our dialogue purpose was compassion, but your purpose could be marketing strategies, revisiting your organization’s brand, or developing strategic initiatives.
It is a simple process, but the harvest is rich. If you need assistance in developing a World Café process for your organization, contact me. I’ve facilitated a number of events using this process.
Check out these great resources:
- Learn more about the World Café process
- Check this out if you are interested in Exploring cities of compassion.