Workshop #1

When conversations at work (or elsewhere) become tense, polarized or emotionally charged, how do you engage constructively? Do you lean in or do you silently avoid the conversation?

 How do you help someone feel heard when their views differ sharply from yours? What are the best strategies for connecting with people, and potentially persuading them?

 Dr. David Campt has coached and advised thousands of people about how to build on findings from the arts of dialogue, persuasion and conflict resolution. He has helped people find ways to productively engage others whose experiences and values lead them to very divergent opinions. His work has focused on illuminating the internal mindsets and conversational strategies that can overcome seemingly intractable divides. 

 “Many of my clients tell me that the methods I teach often help them make remarkable progress when talking to people they have longstanding disagreements with,” he says. 

 The workshop will highlight David’s cutting-edge ABC method (Agreements Before Challenges).  

 Come and join in a dialogue experience to help you feel more confident about creating dialogue opportunities in your life! 

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:  

• Shift from a focus on immediate persuasion to the interpersonal connection that is the necessary precursor to greater influence. 
• Move the conversation from facts to the experiences and/or the values that influence each person’s perspective. 
• Improve the ability to recognize and articulate the key trade-offs in values behind most deep disagreements. 

Learn ways to strategically use stories of one’s own mistakes to change a conversation from a confrontation to one where both of you are re-examining your point of view.  

Presenter:

David W. Campt, Ph.D.
The Dialogue Company

 With more than 25 years of professional experience, Dr. David Campt (@thedialogueguy) is considered a national expert in the areas of inclusion and equity, cultural competence, and intergroup dialogue. His insights about more inclusive and effective institutions and communities have been sought by groups from small executive boards consisting of fewer than a dozen, to large-scale summits involving thousands of people.

 His clients have varied widely, and have included the US military, The White House, large corporations, international organizations, foundations, governments, universities, national associations, and non-profit groups.

 David is the author of a number of books including The Little Book of Dialogue for Difficult Subjects (2007) and Read the Room for Real: How A Simple Technology Creates Better Meetings. (2015).

 In early 2016, David founded a project called the Ally Conversation Toolkit (ACT), which has engaged thousands of people in person and on line.  For this initiative, David has written five work books including White Ally Toolkit Workbook, a comprehensive guide for allies to effectively engage in anti-racism dialogue; Discussion Group Leaders Guide, a supplement for the workbook.

 He has also written two 30-day workbooks for learning the methodology: the Compassionate Warrior Boot Camp for White Allies, and Equipping Antiracism Allies: Unitarian Universalist Edition.  He also has written Compassion Transforms Contempt, which gives white progressives guidance about how to most effectively talk about the 2020 election.

 David’s work on dismantling racism has been featured by a number of prominent media outlets such as Think Progress and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (December 2018 and July 2020).

 David has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Princeton University, and a Masters degree in public policy from UC Berkeley. His doctoral studies were also completed at UC Berkeley’s urban planning department where his dissertation focused on ways that social service administrators can modify their organizations to make them more responsive to the cultural realities of African-American populations.

LinkedIn 

David W. Campt, Ph.D.
The Dialogue Company