ABSTRACT

Dialogue is an exchange, a conversation, through which people learn together. In this it differs from three other ‘Ds’, namely Direction, Debate and Discussion. We can begin to define it by looking at what it is not, by looking at the other forms of verbal interaction. Direction is the mode of a command and control culture; it is one-way communication and is rarely open to the ideas, thoughts or feelings of the other person; it is a ‘just do it my way’ message. Debate is an exchange in which different views of a topic are aired and argued; it is not about learning from the other participants but more a matter of convincing them of your own point of view. Essentially, it is a matter of winning, the verbal equivalent of battle. Discussion is an exchange of views, ideas and information; things might be learnt and this learning is usually more of a knowledge acquisition kind.