Dialoguers do not interview, nor do they debate. The interviewer merely questions, and the teacher who merely asks questions may give the appearance of hiding knowledge or of being disinterested. In a genuine dialogue, everyone questions and everyone answers. The debate has been mentioned earlier. Victory is not the goal of dialogue, but truth and, we hope, wisdom.
Debaters frequently twist the truth and abuse their opponents.
Dialogue is not a form of oral chess. But, most of all, the dialoguing teacher must possess a set of moral qualities, including honesty, respect for persons, humility and even a kind of poverty, where her learning, expertise, and years of experience are held of little or no account before the native enthusiasm, boldness and generosity of the young learner. One reason why dialogue is so valuable in the university is that it enhances an intergenerational bond and demands the unity of young and old in a common project. But the old must be ready to learn from the young as well as the young from the old. And this is possible only where the teacher feels genuinely inadequate to the task.