Dialogue experience Topic: Abortion Using the Public Conversations Project Model

How is it done?  Pre-dialogue prep  Dinner  General groundrules: Speak one’s own truth -- about oneself -- without attacking or blaming others. (In other words, talk about your own feelings, not your group’s position) Listen with openness and wonder for deep understanding

How is it done?  Pre-dialogue prep  Dinner  Starting the actual dialogue  Step 1: setting groundrules.

Groundrules  We will speak for ourselves and from our own experience.  We will not criticize the views of other participants or attempt to persuade them.  We will listen with resilience, “hanging in” when what is said is hard to hear.

General Groundrules  Regarding the form of our speaking and listening,  We will participate within the time frames suggested by the facilitator.  We will follow the structure suggested by the facilitator  We will not interrupt except to indicate that we cannot hear a speaker.  We will “pass” if we do not wish to speak.

General Groundrules  We will reflect before speaking to avoid knee-jerk or defensive reactions  We will ask questions out of genuine curiosity, not to “get” someone.  We agree to keep what is said in this room confidential, unless explicitly agreed to otherwise.

Ground rule clarification & confirmation  Are there any questions about what these ground rules mean or what is expected of you?  Does anyone want to propose other ground rules?  Can we all agree to follow these ground rules and will you allow me to enforce them if someone forgets to follow one?

Question 1: Introductions and Hopes  Please say your name and tell us in 1-2 sentences why you were interested in participating in this dialogue. What do you hope to get out of it?

Question 2:  What concerns do you have about talking about abortion with others on “the other side”? Do you see any value for doing so? Why or why not?  Let’s take a minute or two to collect our thoughts…  Take a minute to collect your thoughts, and you can jot some ideas down on paper if you’d like to.  Then anyone can start…and we will go in a clockwise circle after that.  You can pass if you are not ready to talk…I will check back with you later.

Question 3:  Now, please take about 1-2 minutes each to tell us a bit about your own life experience or current situation that has influenced or shaped your thoughts about abortion in the United States.

Question 3:  So what in your life experience has influenced your current thoughts about abortion?  Anyone of you can start when you are ready. Then we’ll go around in a circle.  If we come to you before you are ready, you can pass and I’ll check in with you later to see if you’d like to speak.

Dialogue Exercise – Question 4  Within your general perspective on the issue, have you or do you experience any dilemmas or mixed feelings, or are there gray areas in your thinking?  This time we’ll do “popcorn” responses…anyone can answer in any order, but please…  No interrupting.

Dialogue Exercise: Question 5  During divisive political debates on abortion, are there ways that your values and perspectives are stereotyped by the “other side”?  Is there something you’d really like the “other side” to understand about you?  Popcorn style again.

Dialogue exercise – question 6  Now I’d like to open up the discussion and allow you to ask questions of each other.  Remember though, these questions should be ones of genuine curiosity— about things that you heard that you didn’t understand and would like to learn more about.  You can also reflect on ideas that you heard that surprised you.

Closing  Our time here is coming to an end. Are there any parting words that you’d like to say to bring your participation to a close?  Are there one or two things you are particularly going to remember about this conversation?

Thank you!  I want to sincerely thank everyone for being willing to participate in this exercise and share their views in this setting.  I know this is sometimes scary and difficult, and I very much appreciate your willingness to share this experience today.  If there is anything you would like to talk about regarding this event at a later time, please feel free to contact us….