Community Agreements for Constructive Dialogue

by | Sep 11, 2026

  • Approach the day with Curiosity.
  • Treat others with Care and Respect.
  • Summon Courage as you work on your own growth edge.
  • Speak from your own experience. Use“I” statements.
  • Lean into discomfort and assume good intent.
  • Mistakes are inevitable, be open to learning and repair.
  • People’s stories/opinions/ideas are their own to share.
  • Respect confidentiality – lessons leave, stories stay.
  • Recognize various comfort levels with sharing and speaking.
  • Allow space for a range of voices, ideas, speaking styles, and cognitive abilities.
  • Be OK with silence. Sometimes silence provides the space for someone else to speak.
  • It’s OK not to know or to be figuring it out.
  • It’s OK to “pass” or to “pass for now.”
  • Others?

Possible Questions for any Constructive Dialogue

by | Sep 11, 2026

  • What do you believe about this issue? 
  • What experiences or sources (people, texts) led you to have this belief? 
  • What is over-simplified about this issue? 
  • What do you want to understand about the other side? 
  • What do you want the other side to understand about you? 
  • What would it feel like/look like if you woke up and this problem was solved? 
  • What’s the question nobody’s asking? 
  • What do you want to know about this issue that you don’t already know?. 
  • Where do you feel torn? 
  • Can you tell me more?

Synthesis Questions: Based on this dialogue…. 

  • What have you learned about others’ perspectives or your own? 
  • What has shifted in your perspective? 
  • What are some areas of common ground? 
  • Why do we engage with people with whom we disagree? 
  • What’s lost – personally and societally — if we remain in our ideological bubbles?
  • What are your take-aways and/or next steps?