Jeff, Richard, Nishchal, and others...

given the conversation that is taking place on this list, maybe this
is a good time for me to mention that the Dynamic Facilitation manual
is now available freely from my website at http://www.diapraxis.com.

As some of you may already know, Dynamic Facilitation is a "chart
paper and markers" approach that has some similar features to
Dialogue Mapping. As a result, it may be helpful to people who are
learning Dialogue Mapping...

One major difference between the two approaches is that in DF we
don't end up with a map that specifies the connection between the
various questions, solutions, pros, and cons (which ones go with
which.) We just have four numbered lists -- problem statements,
solutions, concerns, and data. The mapping of which solution goes
with which question, etc. is carried naturally in people's heads.
While for many situations, this seems to work just fine, creating a
Dialogue Map can of course add much greater value, especially when
handling massive amounts of information.

Where the Dynamic Facilitation manual might be of use to folks who
are learning Dialogue Mapping, is with regard to the "listening
cycle", as in BOTH methods, listening well and in depth to each
individual perspective (instead of trying to get the group to "agree"
to anything) is paramount.

Another thing that the Dynamic Facilitation manual might help
clarify, is that in both Dynamic Facilitation and Dialogue Mapping,
we are NOT attempting to corral participants to speak in "logical
order"... for example, we do NOT say at any point, "okay, for the
next 15 minutes, as a facilitator I only want to hear the pluses and
minuses for this particular idea, so that we can complete that
section of our diagram."

INSTEAD, a participant might offer a different solution, or a minus
to a previous solution, or a different question altogether....

the power of Dialogue Mapping, in my view, is that it allows you to
create a LINEAR, ORDERED display, out of a NON-LINEAR, CREATIVE
process.

I am concerned that this key point may not come across sufficiently
clearly to people who have not seen the process first-hand...

and, it is something that i have attempted to emphasize in the
Dynamic Facilitation manual.

with all best wishes,

Rosa



********

Rosa Zubizarreta, M.A.
Facilitating Creative Collaboration:
Organization Development * Community Engagement

Great Barrington, MA
http://www.diapraxis.com