Over the years, we have consulted with work teams, boards of directors, and other entities brought together to provide direction to their organizations or teams. The shared responsibility involves individuals who bring their perspectives on issues and decisions to be made. Not surprisingly, there may be differences and even strong disagreements. 

For example, a membership organization may propose to raise the dues for its graduate students to offset the financial shortfalls. Data are provided about the benefits of this measure, but not all board members are convinced to raise dues. 

Possible Approaches to Verbal Exchanges for Decision-making

To offset protracted exchanges, we introduce three approaches or terms to the process of decision-making. They are debate, discussion, and dialogue.

Debate: In debate, the goal is to win by swaying others to your point of view.

Discussion: With discussion, there is an “exchange of ideas,” but generally, these may come out more like a debate when differences are expressed.

Dialogue: This is a communication process with the goal of reaching a deeper understanding. Dialogue requires measured listening and speaking in which judgment is suspended to explore and share different perspectives, beliefs, and assumptions on a given matter or issue.

Using a Process Observer 

Applying debate, discussion and dialogue requires practice and also external observation. Several suggestions follow.

• At the beginning of a meeting about decision items, the three approaches to decision-making can be shared. All involved are asked to agree to the three types of processes and even signal which they typically prefer to use.
• A member of the team is asked to be a process observer. This individual tracks the conversation to identify the approaches being applied. Some individuals may have strong feelings about not raising graduate student dues and express themselves with “pros” and “cons”, debate style. 
• The process observer can intervene when the exchanges are getting bogged down and reflect on how to “best” approach reaching a decision. 
• Generally, dialogue leads to shared understanding, though not 100% agreement. However, if individuals lay out their perspectives in a measured manner, decisions can be made that are purposeful and respectful for the team and the organization.

Debate versus Discussion versus Dialogue and Decision-Making

The process outlined is not about winning or losing; rather, it is about thoughtfulness and shared decision-making. We recommend you try this approach at a forthcoming meeting. Let us know how it goes!

Reference: Nagda, R., Gurin, P., Rodriguez, J., & Maxwell, K. (2008). Comparing debate, discussion, and dialogue. Retrieved from https://depts.washington.edu/fammed/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/3d-HANDOUT.pdf