2.2 Appreciating different perspectives
Bushe (2007, p. 30) suggests there are many ways in which appreciative inquiry can be generative in its ‘quest for new ideas, images, theories and models’ that can move us beyond dominant ways of seeing to imagine alternatives. Adopting this ‘appreciative gaze’ towards a particular issue or situation often involves seeing things from different perspectives, and this is where the power of story really comes into its own. Such an approach is all part of the process of immersion; it enables us to pause and to pay close attention to everything within a scene or context, including those things that may initially seem so to be of little or no significance.
Zandee (2013) describes one dimension of inquiry as a process of building and maintaining connections with others that enable us to ‘listen with a third ear and see with a third eye’ (p. 77). Such connections are largely established through dialogue and help to surface different ways of seeing that can generate new understandings and actions.
Activity 3 Character perspectives
Return to your chosen image and to one of the characters you have included in your story. How might their perspective differ from yours? If you were having a conversation with this character, how might it unfold? Write a short dialogue that captures this conversation. If you are studying this course with others, try to improvise this dialogue with them and record the conversation.
Now reflect on the dialogue you have created:
- What new ways of seeing the issues at stake have emerged?
- Do these suggest alternative interpretations of any part of the story?
- What new questions does it pose?
Make some notes on your responses to each of these questions.
Comment
Keep your reflections to hand as you work through the rest of this course. The different perspective, interpretations and questions you have reflected on here may prove useful at a later stage in your inquiry.
Paying close attention to small details that we might have previously missed can also provide different ways of ‘seeing’ our stories. The next section will encourage you to consider your story again, noticing these small things.