FocusedConversation

=Focused Conversations= //Main source: Stanfield (1997)// Sample Script, Connection to Other Frameworks,References

Focused conversations s a four-stage process led by a facilitator who asks questions to elicit responses that take a group from the surface of a topic to its depth. It addresses the problem that people tend to be selective in the data they deem relevant and then jump to premature conclusions based on that selective data (Ross 1994).


 * WHO is it for?** – Access the wisdom of the group who needs to make a decision or review where they have come.


 * WHY use this method?** - Using this process creates authentic involvement in making decisions and taking action. Participants are invested in the outcome they helped generate and are more likely to follow through with the results

Focused conversation is a tool used to explore many facets of a question in order to design the most effective solution. A group of people work together to answer questions on four different levels. The conversation can be led by a facilitator or by a group member. The wisdom of each member of the group is accessed and together the group creates an answer to the question.
 * Overview**


 * Stage 1 – The Objective Level**
 * Questions in this stage focus on facts and external reality. They are designed to gather specific, observable information that pertains to the conversation. In our natural decision making process this would be manifested as observing a situation about which you will be making a decision.


 * Stage 2 – The Reflective Level**
 * Questions in this stage focus on emotions and memories. Participants in the conversation are asked to reflect on the data they have just discussed during the objective level of the conversation. This piece of the process allows participants to acknowledge how they feel about a situation. Validation of personal feelings, moods, associations and memories is liberating and enables participants to move forward in the conversation. Without this opportunity participants will feel frustrated and may vent their feelings outside the meeting, which is counterproductive. In our natural decision making process, the reflective level of questioning is the emotional response.


 * Stage 3 – The Interpretive Level**
 * The third stage of the Focused Conversation Method is the interpretive level. Questions in this stage get at the meaning of the topic for the group. Higher-level thinking skills are used to define the implications of the data for the group. The questions are often “why” questions and include questions pertaining to the value of the conversation and how it affects the participants outside the conversation. In the human decision-making process thinking through immediate options would reflect this stage.


 * Stage 4 – The Decisional Level**
 * The fourth and final stage of the process is the decisional level. Questions in this stage are designed to make the conversation relevant for the future. As its name suggests, in this level the group makes decisions regarding implications of the conversation for the future.

Sample Script
You have quite a challenge before you for the rest of the semester... But I think you can be pleasantly surprised by looking at how much you have learned already through...  To do that, I'm going to lead you in a focused conversation. This is a series of questions that begin with concrete things you observed and move through feelings and associations, on to interpretations and finally get to the overall implications. The idea is to avoid jumping to conclusions or holding on to preformed opinions; instead stay open to forming new conclusions on the basis of hearing everyone's contributions— including your own—to the earlier questions. So try not to answer a question that hasn't yet been asked. This is not a conventional discussion. Instead of directly addressing what someone has said before you, the idea is to contribute to a pool of responses and to gain insight from listening to what others contribute. We want each person to be heard, so keep your answers to the questions short and pithy—even telegraphic. No speeches or disputing particular speaker's contributions. I'm not the teacher now, but a neutral facilitator, so don't look to me for endorsement of answers. Instead listen to what others say. Provided you're responding to the question that was asked, there are no wrong answers—there is insight in every answer. Objective Questions = concrete things, actually observable by all > What are the main parts of the Action Research process? > What are useful tools in the Action Research process? Reflective Questions = associations and feelings > What was relatively easy for you to do? > What felt difficult? > What similar experiences come to mind? Interpretive Questions = meaning and significance > What skills and resources did you bring to the project? > What skills and resources were you missing? > What issues need to be resolved? Decisional questions = implications for the future [on board or flip chart] > What tasks do you plan to undertake this week? > What guidance will you seek? Closing: I'm always impressed with what happens when people combine their insights. I'll type up the notes and email them to you by tomorrow. But for now, let's close this conversation and call it a day.



Connection to Other Frameworks
Focused Conversation has affinities with several different schemas for thinking about learning and/or group process, such as, Kolb's learning styles and Jungian/ Myer-Briggs personality types (see [|thought-piece] on the connections).