Topics for Dialogue (not discussion)

by Jim Rough, host of the Port Townsend Conversation Café

One of the most frequent questions we hear from hosts is: how can I create or find topics for my Conversation Café? In our last newsletter, CC co-creator Susan Partnow wrote an article on The Art of Framing Questions. Here we include topics from 2½ years at Jim Rough’s highly successful Café in Port Townsend, Washington. Jim writes about CCs:

I LOVE the conversations at our Conversation Cafés ... I get an AHA! at practically every one because it's DIALOGUE rather than DISCUSSION. If you don't know the difference, you should come.

2002
April 19 - How is your life different after 9/11???
April 26 - Israeli/Palestinian war
May 3 - Potluck topic
May 10 - How can all of us live well within the earth's means? ...
Are you hopeful or fearful and why?
May 17 - What is the role of power in relationships and society?
June 14 - Chaos vs. 'Going with the flow'
June 21 - Corporate dominance
June 28 - War? Peace? -- What's best for humanity?
July 19 - Men/Women ... Gender baggage
July 26 - Health ... To be healthy
Aug 2 - Potluck topic
Aug 9 - Nurturing, Mentoring
Aug 16 - The System's effect on us... positive/negative
Aug 23 - The urge to action. When is enough?
Aug 30 - Mutually transforming ...
Sept 6 - Stories and Cultural Myths
Sept 13 - Finding Right Livelihood
Sept 20 - What is it to Respect self and others?
Sept 27 - Male/Female Rituals and Passages
Oct. 4 - What is Community-building?
Oct 11 - The human place in natural cycles
Nov 1 - Power and Responsibility
Nov 8 - What is the mind?
Nov 15 – Intention and manifestation
Nov 22 – What is control?
Nov 29 – Becoming more than you’ve ever been
Dec 13 – Living with integrity
Dec 20 – Status and class
Dec 27 - Iraq ... How can this be happening?

2003
Jan 3 - What is trust?
Jan 10 - What is "We" and when does it happen?
Jan 17 - Discernment and Judgment
Jan 24 - How can we trust the media?
Jan 31 - Dealing with DATA SMOG
Feb 7 - Money!?
Feb 14 - What's our next evolutionary step?
Feb 21 – Words … Some heal, some hurt
Mar 7 - Discovering Delight
Mar 14 - Who is in charge? … the question of authority
Mar 21 - Our consumer culture … Is it worth the price?
Mar 28 - What makes us laugh?
April 4 - Innocence or Ignorance
April 11 – “Local Mind”
April 18 - Being Passionate
April 25 - Values Disconnect
May 2 - Transitions
May 9 - What satisfies us
May 16 - Becoming multicultural
May 23 - What is love?
May 30 - Spam!?
June 6 - What is "meaningful"?
June 13 - What is "happiness"?
June 20 - Living our highest values
June 27 - What is "intelligence"?
July 11 - What is a "breakthrough"
July 18 - What is "consciousness"
Sep 5 - Surviving in the world of money
Sep 12 - Passion for life
Sep 19 – Health ... Real health.
Sep 26 - Time ... Do you have any?
Oct 3 - What does it mean to TRUST?
Oct 10 - FRIENDSHIP
Oct 17 - TURNING POINTS in your life
Oct 24 - Being ALONE vs. loneliness
Oct 31 - The value of OPTIMISM
Nov 7 - The value of OPTIMISM
Nov 14 - Waiting for a MIRACLE
Nov 21 - What's the MEANING of life?
Nov 28 - Thanks-giving ... The role of GRATITUDE
Dec 5 - Follow your HEART vs. HEAD
Dec 12 - Playing a role vs. really living
Dec 19 - Looking at myself ... holes vs. wholes
Dec 26 - Persistance vs. Knowing when to stop

2004
Jan 2 - To Dream the Impossible Dream
Jan 9 - Mentors
Jan 16 - Reflection and Authenticity
Jan 23 - The World Ship … Spaceship Earth
Jan 27 - Fear
Feb 6 - Forgetting
Feb 13 - Choice
Feb 20 - Projection
Feb 27 - Power
Mar 5 – Caring
Mar 12 – Time
Mar 19 – The media
Mar 26 – Being positive
Apr 2 - Globalization
Apr 9 - Sharing ideas
April 16 - Privatization
April 23 - Religious fundamentalism
April 30 - Rich and Poor
May 7 - Consumptionism
May 14 - Fundamentalism
May 21 - Facing dragons
May 28 - Being home
June 4 - Elections
June 11 - The endangerment of deep talking
July 16 – Farenheit 9-11
July 23 – The stories our culture tells us
July 30 – The stories our culture tells us, Part 2
Aug 6 - Ethics
Aug 13 – Security
Aug 20 - Authenticity
Aug 27 – What is learning?
Sept 3 – The real reality
Sept 10 – Judgment and Discernment
Sept 17 – Fairness and Luck
Sept 24 – The truth
Oct 1 – Grief
Oct 8 – Me and the System
Oct 15 – I should, you should
Oct 22 – Personal power
Oct 29 – Choices vs. Decisions
Nov 5 – Dialogue vs. Talking
Nov 19 – Taking the long view
Dec 10 – The News
Dec 17 - Hope for the Future

2005
Jan 14 - The Tsunami
Jan 21 - Emergence! ... How "stuff" self-organizes
Jan 28 - Making Life-Changes
Feb 4 - The state of PEACE
Feb 11 - Hiding from myself
Feb 18 - Enthusiasm
Feb 25 - How my passion Makes a Difference
March 4 - Gender dominated systems
March 11 - Curiosity and surprise
March 18 - What it takes to be human
March 25 - Turning points in life
April 1 - Relationships
April 8 - Taking "time out"
April 15 - Enforcing the laws
April 22 - Acceptance
April 29 - Our relationship to time
May 6 - Emotional integration
May 13 - Naivete vs. Knowledge vs. Denial

Jim Rough is the originator and principal seminar leader for Dynamic Facilitation Skills. He has been leading public seminars and evolving these concepts of Dynamic Facilitation and Choice-creating for over ten years.

You can find many more topics and questions on Conversation Café's topic page.