Presents a model of the meaning and intent of conversation as expressed and received. Distinguishes the purposes and practices of conversation and dialogue as intentional communication.

1. Conversation & Dialogue:
More & Less than Method
for Social Design
Peter Jones DwD March 2010
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

2. Social design, Human-Human Interaction
• Conversation Discovering
• Dialogue Understanding
• Deliberation Acting
Participation:
1. Have a conversation, following rules of the game
2. Create dialogue about topic of concern
3. Experience deliberation toward action
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

3. In a design situation, we are oriented
toward problem-solving. Each of these
activities can be a mode of sensemaking.
• Conversation Discovering
• Dialogic design Understanding
• Deliberation Acting
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

4. “A motivated, continuous effort to
understand connections (which
can be among people, places, and
events) in order to anticipate their
trajectories and act effectively"
Klein, G., Moon, B. and Hoffman, R.F. (2006a). Making sense of sensemaking I:
alternative perspectives. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 21(4), 70-73.
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

5. Sensemaking a Matter of Scale
Individual “the situation” My concerns
?
Relationship Our concerns
Collaboration Shared situation
Collective Supra-situation
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

6. What is Conversation?
How do we design for it?
?
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones From Dubberly and Pangaro (2009)

7. What is Conversation?
1. Open a channel, common ground
2. Commit to engage.
3. Construct meaning.
4. Evolve. We change & update models.
5. Converge on agreement.
6. Act or transact.
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones From Dubberly and Pangaro (2009)

8. Conversations for (examples)
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones From Dubberly and Pangaro (2009)

9. These distinctions of Conversation help >
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones From Dubberly and Pangaro (2009)

10. Another view of Design for Conversation >
Social design starts with a conversation for possibility.
How might we
reenergize our
downtown and
Good question!
bring employers
Where do we
back to the city?
start?
I invite you to
Conversations for join me in
Possibility preparing an I’m in. What
offer to the city. should we do
next?
Conversations for
Action
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

11. Conversations for Action >
Social design is enacted by conversations for action.
Generative or Performative
Speech Acts
Directive Commissive Declaration
• Expressives
• Assertives
• Directives
• Commissives
• Declarations
Illocutionary point & force
The speaker is committed to the outcome
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones From Winograd and Flores(1986)

12. What is dialogue?
What design situations does dialogue inform?
Is dialogue just a collective conversation?
Buber Dialogic encounter as I-Thou
Gadamer As fusion of horizons
Bohm About the process of reflection itself & the
willingness to change our thoughts & selves
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

13. Do Conversations scale to dialogue?
Social design requires eliciting, understanding, &
negotiating differing values, perspectives, goals
How might we
reenergize our
downtown and How might we
Good question! reenergize our
bring employers
Where do we Recent grad downtown and
back to the city?
start? bring employers
back to the city?
Conversations for
Possibility Business
owner
? Land
developers
Retiree
Families
Political
officers City planner
Conversational Dialogic
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

14. Finding common ground
Social design organizes multiple stakeholder perspectives in a
complex situation by relational structuring of commitment.
How do we
I invite you to organize our
join me in projects so this
preparing an I’m in. What happens?
offer to the city. should we do
next?
Conversations for
Action
?
What steps can
we take as
individuals and
groups?
What actions can
we take that will
make the most
Conversational difference? Dialogic
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

15. Scaling to dialogue? Management of Divergence (possibility)
& Convergence (action)
How might we What actions can
reenergize our we take that will
Recent grad downtown and make the most How do we
bring employers difference? organize our
back to the city? projects so this
happens?
Business
owner
? Land
developers ?
Retiree
What steps can
Families we take as
Political individuals and
officers City planner groups?
Divergence Convergence
Generating possibilities Narrowing the field for selecting actions
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

16. What is dialogue?
Form Open Guided Structured
Intent Generative Democratic Strategic
Outcome Appreciative Formative Decisive
Art of Hosting Structured Dialogue
Common ground Collaborative Sensemaking
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

17. 2. Hosting
Discovery Café
Create tables of 4 – Pads & markers, elicit Questions for 1 and 2
Question 1: What questions represent our personal concerns?
2: What questions do we truly share in common?
Q1 is your authentic concern. Q2 discovers common ground.
Select 1 question you can agree represents the table’s concerns.
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones

18. 3. Structured Dialogue
Defining a problem from the Focus Question
Review all selected questions and find those similar to yours.
Similar enough to join them in a group.
1: Agree on a single question that frames your joint concerns.
2: Write 2-3 responses (write big), one response per Post-it
3: Cluster responses by similarity & clarify with your group.
4: Select one response per cluster and make a new chart
5. Using that item, ask “How might we” accomplish that.”
Copyright © 2010, Peter Jones