Principles of Effective Dialogue | Principles of Adversarial Debate
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Active listening as a core principle | No real listening – just waiting to talk
Equality of participation – every person’s perspective treated with respect | Perspectives of others are targets to be attacked
No threat of retribution or coercion permitted | Overt or underlying power-play behaviours abound
No preconceived outcomes are assumed and the working assumption is that there may be numerous possible outcomes | Different parties or individuals assert there is one ‘right’ way or ‘truth’
Open personal agendas – the aim is to deal openly with issues and to engage in authentic communication | Closed agendas – parties or individuals seeking to gain advantage by argument or rhetoric