Learning to Dialogue LO10027

Davidwilk@aol.com
Tue, 17 Sep 1996 22:31:22 -0400

Replying to LO9993 --

Barry Mallis asked,

>Is active listening an essential--or THE essential--element
>of dialogue?

FWIT, active listening is an essential element of dialogue. Another
essential element is "suspension" - the act of consciously chosing whether
to set aside one's own reactions, thoughts, and feelings as part of the
dialogue. Without this choice, we always act from an ego-centric view in
the conversation.

When we suspend, we have the choice to see from an allo-centric view (from
the eyes of another person) or from a macro-centric view (from above, or
in the balcony looking down).

A thought, does suspension allow us to actively see as well as actively
listen?

David Wilkinson
School Improvement Specialist
Davidwilk@aol.com

[Host's Note: FWIT?? David might mean FWIW = For What it's Worth. ...Rick]

-- 

Davidwilk@aol.com

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>