Some Questions…

And I would love to get input on these.

1. Can you think of a time when someone else was able to persuade you to change your mind or practices with regard to some deeply held belief?

2. Did that dialogue happen, in whole or in part, online, or was it mostly or all in person?

3. Was that person who changed your thinking someone you have a relationship with, or someone you knew only incidentally?

4. Was your mind changed by example or by discussion?

5. If it was through discussion, were you persuaded by open ended sharing, or by debate?

6. If by debate, was it moderate in tone or heated in tone?

7. Have you ever been persuaded by someone who was incapable of or uninterested in understanding your initial position?

As you can tell, I’m still pondering the form dialogue should take online…and whether there is even any purpose in dialoguing online. Does it change minds? Does it foster understanding? What are we hoping to achieve when we sit ourselves down at the keyboard and start typing. And is it possible we all really need this?