Early Bird

Professional-development opportunity: Dialogue Facilitation Seminar

Build skills that can transfer to your classroom, teams, student organizations and more.

By Elise Krumholz

July 12, 2021

The Dialogues Program is hosting a two-day training for faculty, staff and students on intergroup-dialogue facilitation. Intergroup dialogue is an intentional conflict-resolution process that brings together individuals with different experiences and identities to meaningfully engage on difficult topics. The seminar will be a meta-dialogue, guiding participants through the four stages of intergroup dialogue and teaching them how to facilitate each stage.

The four stages of intergroup dialogue include:

1. Community Building: This stage sets the stage for dialogue and how the group can enter into a “brave space.” The dialogue is also grounded with norm-setting.
2. Identity, Conflict and Dialogue: An individual and collective reflection on how our identities, experiences and power dynamics shape how we show up in dialogue.
3. Dialogue on Social Justice Issues: A facilitated dialogue that pushes the group to challenge dominant narratives. The training focuses on how to facilitate creatively, how to use a multi-partial lens as a facilitator and how to redirect problematic comments.
4. Action and Alliances: The dialogue closes by considering how to make coalitions with others and strive for action.

Students, faculty and staff welcome

You may find this training helpful if you are looking for new ways to have difficult conversations in your classes, with students attending your events, within your department or team, or if you want to build skills for future professional opportunities.

Seminar details:

• 5-6 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Jordan Student Success Building Room 204
• Lunch provided
• RSVP here.

Join the Dialogue Facilitation Team

If you’d like to gain experience facilitating dialogue after the seminar, join the facilitation team. Each dialogue requires two facilitators who team up to guide dialogue participants. Past dialogues have included topics such as:

• How do we talk about race … with our children, family and co-workers?
• Cancel culture and repair after wrongdoing
• From processing the moment to action
• Free speech and hate speech

Learn more about the Dialogues Program on the program’s website or contact Elise Krumholz, coordinator for Student Conflict Resolution Services, at ekrumhol@msudenver.edu.