Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, Washington not only ran with Conversation Week (March 24-31, 2007)- they took off and flew. Teacher Jackie Jamison trained her classroom as Conversation Café hosts and organized them into action teams to produce a school-wide Conversation Café.

"There's something so different about this," one Conversation Week participant mused after her groups' exploration of CW Question: How can we heal the wounds of violence and war? "It's not just friendship. It's not just conversation. It feels like love."

Another participant a thousand or more miles away said:

"We loved hearing each other share deeply, and we loved being listened to with such attention. We agreed that this is a unique experience in today's world. We were impressed with each other and with the synergy. I [got] in touch with my aliveness - more than in years! Thank you.".

At Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, WA, some 300 students chose to wear Orange Bands and to plaster the halls of the school with their "most important questions in the world." The T-shirts - black with a big orange question mark - sold out. One class trained as hosts. Another did all logistics and coordinating. A third marketed the CW event which event magnetized the whole school - students and teachers alike loved being part of something larger and talking about what matters most. One teacher wrote, "I've had other students (juniors) asking how to get an "orange band". Apparently it is now "cool" to be interested in global issues."

Have your team meetings gone stale? Does one person tend to dominate? Are there team members who never speak?

Try introducing our simple, road-tested Conversation Café methodology at your next staff meeting: just pull something out of your briefcase to use as a talking object and suggest the group give it a try. If you have a copy of the agreements to read, all the better. The shift will be profound.

Don't forget the final round before your meeting ends: the opportunity for each person to share what they are taking from the conversation/meeting will give your ending a positive, bonding and energizing close so you'll find you look forward rather than dreading the next meeting.

In this new column, Ron Gross will share ideas, techniques, and experiences, including topics for sessions, facilitation strategies, and promotional tips. Ron conducts his Socratic Conversations at Columbia University and throughout New York City, writes a column on lifelong learning for About.com, and is the author of SOCRATES' WAY (www.SocratesWay.com) and 20 other books. While the form of Socratic conversations is somewhat different from Conversation Cafés, the principles and intentions are very much the same. His (and Socrates') wisdom can help us all have livelier, richer, deeper conversations.
-Vicki Robin

For me, Socrates is the founder of our movement to engage people in joyous and important conversations. With his friends in 5th century Athens, he devoted his life to Conversation -- and it rewarded him and his fellow citizens with understanding, insight, fellowship, civic strength, and, over the long haul, wisdom. May we be so blessed!

David Kimball is one of our newest CC hosts and while he is not alone in his success, his immediate success has been inspirational at CC Central.

David, as a Humanist, believes he has the ability and responsibility to develop as much of his humanity as is humanly possible, and to also help others along the way. "I feel badly when I go to social events and observe so many people just engaged in small talk. Yet in places where discussions are held on a particular topic, I noticed that people would present their case, but not really listen to others. Everyone would walk away from the table with the same that they came to the table with and there was little or no dialogue where people would listen to others and use what they heard in helping formulate their own thoughts and feelings."

About a year ago, David happened on to the CC methods through his interest in Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and Collaborative Meetings and felt that hosting a CC was something he could do locally (Marlboro, MA) Since many of his involvements kept him in Boston, he wanted to do something where he lived.

During Conversation Week 2007, many of you reported that your CCs were a great success, except for one thing - diversity, or rather the lack thereof. The conversations were good, those who attended were moved by the conversations, the CC principles worked, so why diversity?

When your Conversation Café circle is diverse, you will have an even richer experience. The study of complex adaptive systems teaches that the richest innovations and learning happen at the edges - where different systems intersect. Your conversations will stretch your thinking and stimulate your imagination the more diversity you interject.

We often feature excellent articles we've collected about conversations that matter. We welcome readers to forward powerful articles to us. Send your submission to: [email protected].

We have often described the Conversation Café method as a combination of traditional indigenous council and Bohmian (from David Bohm) dialogue - simplified for use among everyday people in everyday places. David Bohm was one of the world's greatest quantum mechanical physicists and philosophers and was deeply influenced by both J. Krishnamurti and Einstein. Below is an excerpt from his essay on dialogue.

DIALOGUE - A PROPOSAL

Copyright 1991. c. David Bohm. Donald Factor and Peter Garrett

Dialogue, as we are choosing to use the word, is a way of exploring the roots of the many crises that face humanity today. It enables inquiry into, and understanding of, the sorts of processes that fragment and interfere with real communication between individuals, nations and even different parts of the same organization.

July 9, 2007:
5:30 pm-7:00 pm PDT

Join our own Susan Partnow, professional trainer and CC co-founder, for a telephone training July 9th at 5:30pm -7:00pm Pacific Daylight Time.

Sign up yourself, or (and!) forward the newsletter along to other folks you know who would enjoy a jump-start into CC hosting.

A donation of $18 for this 90-minute training is requested.

To register contact [email protected]