Increase the use of dialogic methods in business, government, non-profit and community 

Dialogue is not just for groups to come to an agreement, engage citizens or make a decision.

Dialogic methods are also used to help groups think faster, more creatively, and more productively while engaging all the knowledge, wisdom, experience and diversity in the room in an interdisciplinary, intercultural, dynamic manner.

Note here that I am including in the term dialogue both methods / tools / processes that invite speaking as those which invite listening and reflection. In true dialogue, there are both the speaker(s) and those who are truly listening. And dialogue also includes both outer (such as talking or inquiring) and inner dialogue (such as thinking while drawing, journaling, reflecting in silence before speaking)

My recommendation is to design more dialogic tools into business, government, non-profits and communities, both in the U.S. and in any project, program, activity or office the U.S. has in other parts of the world.

Facilitators such as myself have seen the use of dialogue in such examples as:
- dialogue before budgeting, to figure out new ways to spend over a billion dollars worth of international aid money
- dialogue before strategic planning to help a global organization's information technology department be more innovative and more service-oriented in a changing business climate
- program and product design that has broken through to new geographic regions or new marketplaces because dialogue helped people think in full-systems, interdisciplinary ways
- meetings where organizations or businesses invite not just the 'experts' but also consumers, partners, peers and even competitors for needs assessment, response to urgent issues, or knowledge exchange
- dialogue in governmental agencies working in other countries to foster collaboration, examine issues of sensitivity and engages all members of international staff in a way that invites all voices in spite of different cultural dynamics
- meetings, conferences, forums or planning sessions that include people of different levels of power, or minority voices and create an environment of inclusion and invitation to speak and share knowledge across culture and across differences
... and I could go on.

If I may speak for us - those of us in the profession of facilitation have seen groups accomplish amazing things when dialogic and interactive processes have been used.

Design Training and Education to be interactive, participant-centered and experiential 

(for those of you unfamiliar with these terms, see this description of interactive learning: http://www.openingspace.net/interactiveLearning_whatIsIt.shtml - in this case, I am talking about face-to-face learning - but technology for learning can and is also being used to engage more than text on a screen or audio in a podcast)

We have learned much about learning. We have learned that designing training and education in more interactive ways increases learners' ability to integrate and retain learning and also learn concepts, not just facts.

Interactive learning design includes not just a design of the facts to teach, but the whole 'ecology of learning', if you will. Placement around / use of / movement in the room, group dynamics and dialogue, using more than text or oral receipt of information. People absorb and exchange information / data differently, so to reach all forms of learners, a good interactive learning facilitator designs her/his workshops or presentations engaging more of the different modalities of learning. Instead of lecture or PowerPoint, more hands-on or teach-each other forms of learning. Instead of just delivering information through text or audio (lecture or reading), us of multiple modalities such as graphic, kinesthetic and/or relational learning. Instead of the same dynamic throughout the lesson, mixing in small group or duo discussion and discovery, silent reflective work, use of materials, and other approaches such as role play or scenario work, use of graphic templates or tools for participants, and moving to indicate such things as different places on a continuum or different points of view. Instead of question-and-answer, interactive dialogue and inquiry. Instead of the teacher 'owning' the information, designing learning so information is put into the hands of the learners and part of their learning is figuring out how to teach their peers.

My recommendation is to raise the capacity of those who present, teach and invite learning in government, business, educational institutions, non-profits and community. To teach interactive learning methodology; to shift folks 'at the front of the room' from 'expert' or 'knowledge holders' to learning facilitators.

With all of these recommendations about the use of facilitation or interactive learning, there are many of us who do this as a profession and several ways to locate and invite us into re-designing learning and training trainers and presenters nation-wide and internationally (the US government and US organizations do so much in so many locations around the world)

Organizations such as International Association of Facilitators, National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation, American Society for Training and Development, many other organizations, associations, educational programs and regional networks of facilitators and trainers have within them people who specialize in designing and teaching how to teach and present using interactive methodology.

Teaching citizens how to facilitate and experience true dialogue 

Engage facilitators to teach neighborhood and organizational representatives how to facilitate short-form dialogue processes / methods.

There is an existing network of Obama neighborhood organizers - add in other representatives from local nonprofits, businesses, local government, faith communities and other organizations.

To this group, teach proven dialogue methods for engaging conversation and discussion - forms of dialogue which can engage a group in 3 hours or less. Only certain forms work for this but they work very well. These trainings are best done over time to teach a skill, allow practice of the skill, return to share experiences and best practices, apply again: action learning.

Dialogue tools help individuals understand across differences, share experiences, listen for common threads in someone else's viewpoint, combine diverse ideas or cultural ways of looking at things to solve problems, gather data to see a full-systems perspective on an issue or opportunity, engage people, foster collaboration, and tap into rich knowledge and cultural diversity in the process.

Use professional facilitators who are skilled in these particular methods and who also understand how to teach. They can be the mentors to the community facilitators as a community of learning and practice is fostered.

Invitation is essential - invite across organization, region, age, ability, experience, culture, class - the key is to identify and train people who set ego aside in service to the group and its work - who invite and engage rather than direct.