Study circles are a very structured form of dialogue developed by Everyday Democracy, Ideas & Tools for Community Change. The Center also is engaged in promoting democracy by reinforcing those processes that are central to a democratic society, as they quote: “Everyone’s voice has an opportunity to be heard, equally and respectfully; people of different backgrounds and views routinely work together to solve problems; elected officials have opportunities to hear from and to respond to everyday people; people have ways not only to inform government officials as they create and carry out public policy, but also to work with public officeholders to solve public problems.” Resources on Everyday Democracy, including discussion guides and training guides for facilitating, are available at the Everyday Democracy

Listening circles are another structured dialogue process that focuses primarily on improving listening skills needed in dialogue. They are a useful approach for building trust and promoting reconciliation by allowing people to listen to thoughts offered by others in response to a specific question. They promote dialogue by strengthening our ability to listen to one another.

Informal dialogue can occur in dialogue groups. Groups of individuals –whether friends, neighbors, or concerned citizens – can begin a dialogue by focusing on shared texts such as these guides, and by following a patter of sharing and talking that promotes dialogue rather than debate. Review of a common text is a good way to focus dialogue, whether through an entire guide or just a segment of the guide that particularly interests the group along with other resources.

Our guides can be used for self-study that supports internal dialogue and thought as well as dialogue with

others. While reading over the guides, ask yourself questions such as:

• What do I think about this issue?
• Why do I think that way?
• What influences my opinions?
• What do I value most?

How can I use my own thoughts to work with others? Doing this not only improves your own knowledge and prepares you for working with others, but most importantly creates self-awareness. Self-awareness improves dialogue.