Sunday, June 26, 2016

BOOK BRIEF: "The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation" by Daniel Yankelovich

Daniel Yankelovich looks at Dialogue from the perspective of a political scientist and sociologist. The book’s subtitle points to Yankelovich’s passion for understanding the world order through public opinion. (He is a founder and president of Public Agenda, a leading American public policy research organization.) He is concerned mainly with what David Bohm refers to as the collective dimension of the human being, and he unfolds it by combining his penchant for distinguishing between popular belief and empirical data with an optimistic vision of society at large:

The public, I have learned over the years, forms its judgments mainly through interactions with other people, through dialogues and discussion.  People weigh what they hear from other against their own convictions.  They compare notes with one another, they assess the views of others in terms of what makes sense to them, and, above all, they consult their feelings and their values.  The public doesn’t distinguish sharply between facts and values, as journalists and social scientists do.

Yankelovich draws his illustrations from foreign and domestic political affairs with a watchful eye on three critical moments of Dialogue: an acceptance of equality between the parties, an attempt at listening with empathy, and a willingness to surface any assumptions. Furthermore, he reinforces William Isaacs’ distinction between debate and dialogue by underscoring debate’s combative nature and dialogue’s collaborative spirit. 

Among the highlights of this highly readable volume are sections which form the core a cogent instruction manual for Dialogue: The 15 strategies of successful dialogues, which include tips for gaining and maintaining trust and for clarifying communication barriers, and the 10 potholes of the mind, which identify egocentric, prejudicial, or unfocused behaviors that negatively affect Dialogue.