Transformational Dialogue Training
with Raye Rawls and Bob Stains

November 29th & 30th, 2022

Virtual ZOOM Event
9:00 am-5:00 pm PST
12:00 am-8:00 pm EST

We need to engage in dialogue around deeply conflicted issues, now, more than ever…

We are grappling with issues around diversity, equity and inclusion, saving and sharing the resources of our planet, and co-existing in spite of our differences relating to culture, religion, gender, values and goals. What is “the truth” for some is being challenged by others with different experiences and perspectives. People reject concepts that do not align with their personal values. In our social relations, we are becoming increasingly polarized and unable to safely express our different values and worldviews. Without this safety, we cannot explore our differences and learn how to adapt to change, essential to increasing unity. Finding ways to engage in conversations that challenge our worldview and reflect our differences while allowing us to remain in community is critical to fostering strong civil societies. Dialogue is one method we can use to facilitate a process of engagement that can lead to mutual understanding, a foundation for problem solving, collaboration, and unity-indeed, for peaceful and constructive coexistence. and explore core underlying issues such as equity, race, gender, broader societal tensions, internal group conflicts, and more. Dialogue is an approach that avoids what normally happens in highly polarized conversations: people take sides, things become black or white, expressions of uncertainty and ambiguity are suppressed, and there is no space for nuance or alternative perspectives. It is a tool for managing conversations in spaces where “You are either for me or against me” is the prevailing attitude, where people on the sidelines become marginalized, ignored, shouted down, hurt, or even killed. The goal of Dialogue is to open or reopen spaces for communication that have been closed. Dialogue affords participants an opportunity to increase learning and understanding in an environment designed to reduce risk as well as to increase individual voice. Unique in its orientation, this approach to conversation does not seek to locate common ground or to find the truth about an issue or incident, but to help people understand another’s perspective and to revisit one’s own. Understanding the perspectives of the “other” increases the probability that we can coexist and learn in our communities with (not in spite of) our differences. It may also lead to the creation of a context that is more liberating and nurturing as it can lead to stronger relationships and increased trust.

Join DPACE stewards, Raye Rawls and Bob Stains, who have been training and practicing transformational and reflective structured dialogue for decades. This is a rare opportunity to learn and grow your dialogue skills.

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Deadline for registration is November 23, 2022

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Fee for this course is $600

(for reduced fee please see information below)

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We are offering limited reduced rate registration fees.

It you would like to request at reduced rate, please send an email to rmrcgroup@gmail.com with the following information:

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More about Raye and Bob

Raytheon “Raye” M. Rawls, JD is an attorney, arbitrator, and mediator and holds a master’s degree in Human Resources. Rawls has mediated and arbitrated thousands of cases in government institutions, court systems, corporations, and with private parties. She is also Senior Public Service Faculty at the Fanning Institute at the University of Georgia where she focuses her work in conflict transformation and difficult dialogue.

Since 1983, she has traveled extensively throughout the United States offering courses in basic and advanced mediation, arbitration, conflict management, designing conflict management systems, leading difficult dialogue, and valuing diversity.

Bob Stains is a seasoned designer and facilitator of challenging conversations. He’s worked across the US and in ten other countries, helping people divided by identity, religious and political differences to connect and become more human to each other. Bob is also a skilled trainer who has equipped over 30,000 professionals with communication and dialogue facilitation skills. Bob helped build the Public Conversations Project (now known as Essential Partners) – a pioneer of the modern dialogue movement. He founded Bob Stains and Associates Conflict Transformation which offers consultation, conflict coaching, dialogue design and facilitation as well as a training, mentoring and group coaching program “Transforming Dialogue” to equip leaders and practitioners with the internal and external skills to design and facilitate dialogues that repair torn communities.

Transformational Dialogue Training with Raye Rawls and Bob Stains