Zan Bennett Outreach Manager

In a world facing polarization, attempting to pull humanity back into Conversation often feels like an uphill battle. You are not alone. There are men and women all over the world searching for the future of empathy and innovation through the almost forgotten art of conversation.

The National Coalition for Discussion and Dialogue (NCDD) gathered hundreds of people in Denver, CO last weekend to educate people on and discuss their goals. Each participant shared the same understanding of what our future of conversation needs to thrive: teaching society how to circumnavigate hateful rhetoric and engage in real action-focused conversation.

Over three days of workshops and breakout sessions, journalists, activists, tenured professors, students, social entrepreneurs, and CEOs shared stories on their projections for genuine Communication. These are some of the standout experiences of people making an effort to change how we speak and how we listen:

The tension across America is palpable, but Guy D. Nave, a professor of religion at Luther College said it best when discussing our future.

“Everyone wants change, but what does that mean? When most people talk about change they are talking about convincing people to agree with their side of the argument,” he said.

Learning to listen and to change your perspective is a cornerstone to teaching other people how to listen effectively.

Bridge USA is an organization that has taken this concept of essential communication to heart.

According to their mission statement, “Bridge USA believes that good governance starts with constructive political discussion. Our organization works with America’s future leaders on college campuses to foster spaces wherein a diverse range of ideas can engage one another through the practice of responsible discourse.”

Ross Irwin, one of the executives of Bridge USA, dedicates his life to pioneer the mission for better conversation by targeting young adults and students, our future leaders.

Having a productive conversation is about not only about a topic, but also the setting and how comfortable those engaging feel. Make America Dinner Again is an organization working to change how we interact with the people closest to us.

“In an attempt to build understanding and move forward together, we’d like to invite people to sit down and have dinner,” states their website.

By bringing structured conversation, fun and the social tradition of eating together into one mission they strive to make an impact through personalized events across America.

Bring it to the Table, another organization that emphasizes physically sitting down to talk, is a community engagement informational media campaign that believes a lack of constructive dialogue is the center of the issue of polarization in America. They are pioneering change through having these conversations with people that have beliefs across the political spectrum.

Meeting Mannie Ajayi, the co-founder of Pnyka, was eye-opening. They are “bringing intimate town halls to the 21st century”. Mannie, a visionary, sees a future where system organizers and populations connect to create effective efforts that serve the people.

Pnyka works by creating a system where people can engage directly with an issue in small double-blind chat rooms with other people in their community. Through analyzing this data, city or company leaders can figure out what the opinions and needs are in the organization. Click here to see their app.

Journalism caught onto this trend with their twists of innovation. Simon Galperin of Ground Source spoke about their breakaway platform designed to bring information straight to the public. The platform works by connecting residents of an area to facts and journalists directly, through mass texting groups, radio, activism, and music.

The team from Solutions Journalism Project spoke about how it’s not only what you do for journalism but fundamentally how you approach the stories. Solutions Journalism focuses on stories striving for success and often features people who aim to find answers through bright, new ideas.

There was one organization that seemed to be the buzz of the conference: Better Angels. They focus on dialogue is a tool to bridge the political divide. In an effort directly against polarization, Better Angels applies workshops, debates, and training to bring conservatives and liberals together.

I was inspired by how many smart people are providing solutions. The issue of better communication is a tough problem to crack, but thankfully, we all understood that connecting people is the first step.

The company I work for, GetVokl, is making an effort too. We represent the transition from passive social media engagement to active community socializing. By going back to the humanity of conversation, GetVokl allows for face-to-face communication with similar minded people around the world.

Free for everyone, and primed for anyone leading a movement, heading a community or any one part of the effort to engage honest conversation, GetVokl allows the masses to communicate.

How it works: Topic leaders are granted access to host public rooms where there is a broadcasting screen for up to four people. The topic, or host, can manage who of the audience comes on screen and for how long. The broadcast will stream live on GetVokl and simultaneously across personal accounts for Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Periscope. Hosts talk about everything from personal stories to politics to social change.

Through a combination of sitting down with people you disagree with, engaging in innovative online communication and working hard to find new ways to solve communication issues we can bridge the perceived dichotomy of political and personal beliefs.

We at GetVokl extend an invitation to all to join an online video discussion about how we can work together to bring humanity back to the conversation. Visit GetVokl to start the conversation.

We are looking forward to the free online event this Friday at 2:00 PM mountain time. You can mark your calendars and check out the online event space here.

The post Thoughtful conversation: Profiles about Innovators in Communication appeared first on GetVokl Blog.