Dialogue - Now You’re Talking!

Produced: Nov. 2003 ---------- Purchase 4-part series $1,875.00, individual titles $625.00 each.
                                            Rental: series $1,180 - individual titles $295
Key Features Include:
Support materials will include a comprehensive facilitation guide, reproducible handouts, pre- and post-assessments, and PowerPoint slides for classroom presentation. Available on video, DVD or streamed media.

VHS version of this program is closed captioned. Transcripts are available upon request for the DVD versions. Closed captioning is not available for the DVD version at this time.

Entire series is designed for a 2 hour training workshop. Additional activities are included in the facilitation guide for more comprehensive sessions and seminars.

Ethnicity? Race? Gender? Job Function? Is your team having trouble communicating across differences?  A 21st century diversity training program from one of the most popular training content producers.

Award Winner
"Dialogue - Now You're Talking!" won a Telly award in the Training category - 2004.

How should we communicate in a world where differences in perspective, experience, job function, culture, gender, age, and a myriad of other factors often lead to distrust, misunderstanding and reduced productivity? We can all benefit from learning the tools of dialogue - how to communicate across differences in a way that is both respectful and effective. Dialogue is how you communicate when you're having trouble communicating.

Dialogue- Now You’re Talking! consists of four video-based training programs:

* 1. Communicating in a Diverse World.
Overview:
What is dialogue -contrasting debate and dialogue. Initiating Dialogue - how to do it, where to do it. The skills of Dialogue - Suspension (of judgment, decision making and status); Listening (with empathy, for understanding, showing you care); Discovery (uncovering and sharing hidden assumptions in yourself and others). Includes a dramatization of how Dialogue helps us communicate across job functions, helping improve relations between people at different levels within the organization as well as between different departments or areas of expertise. 25 minutes.
* 2. Dialogue for Cultural Understanding.
We apply the skills of dialogue outlined in Program 1 to challenges faced in culturally diverse work environments. We see a dramatization that demonstrates how dialogue can be used to open communication, uncover hidden assumptions, break down stereotypes and facilitate more productive relationships. 24 minutes.
* 3. Dialogue between Genders.
A dramatized dialogue shows us how the skills we learned in Program 1 can be used to overcome misunderstandings, break down gender stereotypes and improve communications between men and women at work. 21 minutes.
* 4. Dialogue among Generations.
We demonstrate how the skills of dialogue can be used to bridge the personal and professional style differences that exist between employees of different ages. We uncover how divergent personal and world views common to people of different generations can lead to misunderstandings and distrust and how dialogue can help overcome age barriers and build more productive workplace relationships. 24 minutes.

Facilitation Package Summary:
Dialogue – Now You’re Talking! comes with a comprehensive facilitation package, including 54 page facilitator’s guide, reproducible handouts, and PowerPoint slides. These resources are flexible and may be used in a variety of ways to best meet the training needs of your organization. The activities and exercises are modular, so you can pick and choose which would be most appropriate for your training.

Training Support Material Samples
Here are some examples of the training leader's facilitation guide and suggested activities:

Pre-Screening Exercise:
The initial exercise is designed to let group members experience the distinction between DIALOGUE and debate. Before viewing the video, you will designate 3 participants who will engage in a brief discussion of a relevant topic. The group will analyze what happened in the discussion, whether anyone’s opinions changed in the course of the interaction, whether people were respectful in their communication, if people tended to defend positions or look for common ground, how the participants felt in the course of the discussion, etc. We revisit this exercise later in the training.

Group Discussion Questions:
Questions are presented for each of the 4 programs in the series. In addition to the questions (which also come on a handout and PowerPoint slide), the facilitator gets notes on suggested responses and specific handouts to reference when discussing a question.

There are also group discussions of the differences between dialogue and debate, of the Six Basic Rules of Dialogue, and of the use of electronic communications at work and how they might (or might not) be effective when trying to carry on a dialogue.

Group Exercises:
The guide also offers a number of exercises that help participants practice overcoming obstacles to holding a dialogue, listening with empathy, asking clarifying questions, and suspending decision-making. These can be part of the training with any (or all) of the 4 video programs in the series.

Closing Exercise:
We conclude the training by having everyone in the group participate in a real dialogue, and analyze how well they’re doing at following the Six Basic Rules of Dialogue. Participants are also encouraged to practice dialogue in their personal and professional lives, and follow-up homework and reinforcement sessions are recommended.