Combining passions and abilities: Toward dialogic virtuosity

Abstract

After three years of a city‐wide public dialogue process, things were happening that the participants felt could not have happened earlier. As we explored what had changed since the inception of the process, we developed the concept of “dialogic virtuosity.” This concept sensitized us to differences among ways that other scholars and practitioners use the term “dialogue”. While they had made sharp distinctions between dialogue and other forms of communication (debate, discussion, and deliberation), we had to invent a vocabulary for distinguishing among various flavors of dialogue. Using a conceptualization of virtuosity, we explored the “grand passions” that motivate dialogic practitioners, made “perspicacious distinctions” among these flavors of dialogue, and described the “abilities needed” to engage in dialogue. We conclude by suggesting that dialogic practitioners need the abilities to create and maintain a charmed loop among one's self, the interpersonal relationships among members of the group, and the unfolding episode. This concept of a charmed bop offers a way of understanding some of the differences among the various flavors of dialogic practice and descriptions.

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