Today is a repost from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. While this is applied to health care, it is relevant for many of the ways we engage with each other today, especially through social media. Thank you St. Jude!
Debate vs Dialogue
Being and effective adviser and advocate for Patient Family-Centered Care starts with recognizing that we are all working towards making St. Jude the best it can be. You may work with clinical staff, administrative staff, fellow advisors, or community partners. You may serve on committees, workgroups, councils, or adviser boards. Though there are a multitude of interactive ways to participate, the goal of every interaction is the same: foster dialogue! Some people may think dialogue is just talking back and forth but it’s much more than that.
Dialogue requires you to practice good conversation skills. Debate means stating your point of view without taking time to consider other options or getting your point across while trying to push others back down. Dialogue is the process of putting two or more different opinions together to create a unified idea.
Debate:
-Assumes that there is a right answer and someone has it.
-Defends assumptions as truth.
-Combative: we attempt to prove the other side wrong.
-Defending our own views against those of others.
-Listening to find flaws and make counter arguments.
-Searching for problems and weaknesses.
-Countering the other position without consideration of feelings or relationship, often belittling or deprecating the other person.
-About winning.
Dialogue:
-Assumes that many people have pieces of the answer and together they can create a solution.
-Revealing assumptions for re-evaluation.
-Collaborative: participants work together toward common understanding.
-Reflecting on and re-evaluating one’s own views.
-Listening to understand, find meaning and agreement.
-Searching for strengths and value in others’ ideas.
-Showing genuine concern for the other person and seeks to not alienate or offend.
-About discovering new options.
