What Dialogue is Not!

Dialogue is not the same as discussion.

The word Discussion shares roots with words like <italics>percussion</italics> and <italics>concussion</italics>, both of which involve breaking things up.

NEEDS EDITING SOURCE: http://www.infed.org/archives/e-texts/bohm_dialogue.htm#4 Dialogue is also not the same as Debate. These forms of conversation contain an implicit tendency to point toward a goal, to hammer out an agreement, to try to solve a problem or have one's opinion prevail. It is also not a "salon", which is a kind of gathering that is both informal and most often characterized by an intention to entertain, exchange friendship, gossip and other information. Although the word "dialogue" has often been used in similar ways, its deeper, root meaning implies that it is not primarily interested in any of this.

consequences may be psychotherapeutic but it does not attempt to focus on removing the emotional blocks of any one participant nor to teach, train or analyze. Nevertheless, it is an arena in which learning and the dissolution of blocks can and often do take place. It is not a technique for problem solving or conflict resolution, although problems may well be resolved during the course of a Dialogue, or perhaps later, as a result of increased understanding and fellowship that occurs among the particip