The project sponsored a public conference to share what they had learned and they published reports that could serve as the basis of an informed public discussion of contentious topics related to forest practices and the establishment of ecological reserves. See Maine Forest Biodversity Project. Those who participated in the dialogue valued the opportunity to know their political opponents directly rather than through the media. Participants not only resisted the temptation to use the killing of the two clinic workers as the occasion for using more inflammatory and demonizing rhetoric about those on the other side, they also consistently used nuanced and constructive language when speaking both to the media and their allies. See Confidential Dialogues on Abortion .
Dialogue is about increasing understanding rather than changing minds.
The ground rules discourage persuasion and promote inquiry. Dialogue shifts relationships in directions that usually reveal new possibilities for reducing polarization and for engaging in collaborative action. Participants often report that while their fundamental beliefs have not changed, their thinking about the issue has been enriched by conversation with those who think differently. Our work differs from most approaches to mediation and negotiation in that it focuses on shifts in relationships rather than the settlement of a particular dispute. Unlike most forms of therapy, our dialogue work does not have as one of its goals the personal healing and growth of the individual participants.