Description
This is a tool by the Presencing Institute and part of the Theory U methodology. You can also find other Theory U tools in our toolbox (just search for ‘Theory U’) and on the website of Presencing Institute.
Dialogue interviews engage the interviewee in a reflective and generative conversation. This tool can be used to prepare for projects, workshops, or capacity building programs. Dialogue Interviews:
- Provide insights into questions and challenges that the interviewees face;
- May help you to find partners for a project,
- Prepare participants for to an upcoming event;
- Begin to build a generative field for the initiative you want to co-create.
The purpose of a dialogue interview is to initiate a generative dialogue that allows for reflection, thinking together and some sparks of collective creativity to happen. They do this in the following ways:
- Provide data on the participants’ current challenges, questions, and expectations or on the organizational current challenges.
- Create increased awareness among participants or within an organization about the upcoming process and how it might serve their needs and intentions.
- Increase the level of trust between facilitators and participants that helps to create a generative field of connections.
Dialogue Interviews can be used in all phases of the U-process, yet the most common use is during the preparation phase.
This tool provides everything you need to engage in a dialogue interview: including step-to-step instructions, a sample questionnaire, and examples.
