Skip to content

Letter: Listen to understand, not to reload

I encourage participants to see the next phase of the possible name change as an opportunity to co-create a future that reflects the best in all of us. ~ Maureen Mason
letter_to_editor

Now that the education phase of the possible name change for Powell River is over, many are anticipating the follow-up dialogue phase as a time for more personal engagement [“Public input for possible Powell River name change referred to working group,” April 25].

Before then it seems important to talk about what dialogue is and what it is not.

Dialogue is different from a discussion. Dialogue, by definition, is not positional, so extremes in thinking do not manifest. We generally come to a discussion fortified by our attitudes and ideas and tend to screen out what does not fit our understanding. In dialogue, judgement is suspended as we consider points of view outside our own.

A good dialogue involves listening for understanding, searching for common ground, exploring new ideas and perspectives, and bringing unexamined assumptions into the open. When done well, the benefits can be extraordinary. People at odds find alignment in new perspectives and community bonds are strengthened.

Your role in dialogue is not to defend an idea but to listen deeply and ask questions that will help clarify and inform your understanding of what is being said. A hallmark of the process is the cultivation of curiosity, exploration, risk-taking and expansive thinking as a group.

Unfortunately, the art of community dialogue has been lost, and with it, the ability to communicate our needs and interests. We have become more rigid in our thinking and alienating in our disposition.

I encourage participants to see the next phase of the possible name change as an opportunity to co-create a future that reflects the best in all of us. In an era of failed leadership and fake news it is a leap of faith, but one certainly worth taking. The alternative is unthinkable.

Maureen Mason
Cranberry Avenue