Collaborative Activities as Preventative Care
Embracing Contradictions, Developing Comfort with Ambiguity, & Practicing Generous Interpretation
Dear collaborative discussion friends,
This week we are highlighting three activities from the Collaborative Discussion Toolkit that can help discussants resist binary thinking and reducing others to singular identities or positions. These activities encourage discussants to embrace contradictions, become more comfortable with moral ambiguity, and seek out shared humanity through generous interpretation. These activities are not designed to address already existing conflict between individuals or groups. Rather, these activities help to develop the behaviors that can empower groups to sidestep common traps that lead to unhealthy conflict.
These activities are contributed by Jack Byrd Jr., Professor of Industrial Engineering at West Virginia University and President Emeritus of the Interactivity Foundation; Shannon Wheatley Hartman, President of the Interactivity Foundation; and Jack Crittenden, Professor Emeritus in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University. They can be found in the Creative Collaboration and Critical Collaboration modules.
If you missed the previous newsletter, CDP Winter Reading List 2023, you can access it and our other weekly newsletters by subscribing below.
This week's activities:
Activity 2.2 – Embracing Contradictions
Activity 3.4 – Developing Comfort with Ambiguity
Activity 3.7 – Practicing Generosity of Interpretation
Three activities that help us engage with complexity and recognize our shared humanity
Activity 2.2 Embracing Contradictions helps participants develop a “paradox mindset” by engaging with, rather than avoiding, the contradictions inherent in many problems, situations, and people. Contradictions are often seen as undesirable. Through this activity, participants are able to see how contradictions can instead be useful. They can reveal the complexity of a particular topic and stretch our thinking, increasing the creativity and flexibility with which we approach an issue.
This activity helps participants think about contradictions on various levels. First, it introduces statements that contain paradoxes. Participants discuss these prompts, exploring both their thoughts and feelings when faced with these contradictions. Participants are then encouraged to reflect on their personal contradictions, helping demonstrate how having internal contradictions is a part of what makes us complex individuals. Using the insights they have gained, participants then engage in a discussion about a particular topic and the contradictions inherent in policies or solutions related to this issue.
By developing this “paradox mindset” and embracing contradictions, participants are better able to pay attention to nuances and see the complexity of others when in a tense or divisive situation. It helps them resist black and white thinking and the urge to quickly label people based on a single identity or opinion that they express.
Activity 3.4 Developing Comfort with Ambiguity helps participants engage with complex moral dilemmas, where there is often no right or ideal option and where choosing one option means leaving other options that are just as good on the table. Participants are encouraged to push past “good-vs-bad” binary thinking and sit with discomfort of ambiguity and uncertainty. It also helps participants appreciate the complexities involved in making decisions and how often you need to decide on a course of action even when there is no perfect path. It also demonstrates how new information can often change perspectives and decisions, encouraging them to be being open to change and not trapped by a sense of moral certainty in ambiguous and complex situations.
Participants are first presented with a moral dilemma and, in small groups, asked to share initial reactions and take an initial position, even if it feels uncomfortable or the ideal option is not available. They then discuss the dilemma, asking questions to better understand the reasoning and values informing the positions of others in their group and sharing their own argument for the position they chose. Participants are also asked to expand their thinking by offering an argument for an opposing view. Once the discussion slows down, “monkey wrenches” or twists are introduced that add new variables or alter the situation in some way to get participants to rethink their initial position. Participants then share with the group if their position was changed by this new information and why.
By developing comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty, participants will be better able to be present and open to new information even when in conflict or in a tense situation. Participants will also develop a better understanding of and empathy for decision-makers operating within complex or crisis situations.
Activity 3.7 Practicing Generosity of Interpretation helps participants approach a discussion with people they find challenging or about a controversial topic from a place of generosity, patience, and empathy. It introduces guidelines and methods to help them be patient and see the humanity in others. This activity also encourages participants to develop their own strategies. Participants then practice intentionally using these principles and mental tricks while engaging in a discussion around a challenging topic.
By developing mental techniques to humanize others ahead of time, especially those whom they have trouble engaging in a conversation with, participants are able to maintain an open mind when they find themselves in a challenging situation or conversation. Even when they disagree with someone, they are able to engage with them empathetically and to see their shared humanity.
Upcoming Events
Free webinar: Greater Good Science Center and Interfaith America is hosting "Building Bridges on Campus: Dialogue and Care in Times of Conflict" on Thursday, December 14th from 1:30 to 3:00 pm (EST). The event will highlight the critical role of college campuses to serve as bridge-building spaces. The webinar will equip campus administrators, faculty, and advocates of constructive dialogue with tools to cultivate a culture of respect and understanding across differences in these complex times. Learn more and register here. This event is intended for higher education professionals, but anyone can join.
Congratulations to our Collaborative Discussion Coaches who are concluding a certificate program at the end of this fall semester! Please remember to email Shannon Wheatley Hartman at esw@interactivityfoundation.org to receive the link for the Retrospective Participant Survey and to have your participants complete this survey at the conclusion of your program. The results of these surveys will provide valuable feedback to help us better understand the impact of Collaborative Discussion Certificate Programs.
Looking forward to collaborating,
Shannon Wheatley Hartman and Ritu Thomas