Abstract

Study of the core aspects of dialogue via 3 cycles of inquiry: analysis of literature, study of one group, and synthesis of those theoretical and empirical findings. The methodology, heuristic inquiry , called the researcher to live with the question until illumination; to understand the phenomenon, the people experiencing it, and his own quest to know. Dialogue offers many promises, but is quickly replacing communication as a cure-all for human problems. And, virtually all popular dialogue practice builds on only one theorist, David Bohm . There is little research on Bohmian dialogue; its practitioners disagree on what constitutes dialogue. Scholarship offers a substantial body of knowledge yet it is not readily accessible . The literature is vast; defies brief comprehensive overview ; lacks basic distinctions ; offers little talk across disciplines ; and risks the danger of dialogue police . The study makes the literature more accessible and offers a richer understanding of dialogue theories. It provides an overview of various dialogue schools and then unfolds 6 theories: Bohm, Socrates, Freire, Rogers, Buber, and Baker Miller. It shows the common ground among those 6, what the researcher calls a relational tradition of dialogue. Further, it extends our understanding of dialogue based on the empirical facet of this study; the participant/co-researchers are 3 doctoral students, one of whom is the investigator who conducted this research. Dialogue, for this group a space for struggle with questions , emerges via de novo experimentation and is sustained for over 2 years. Findings are 3 accounts of dialogue's core aspects based on: the literature, participant experience, and a creative synthesis of the two. This study gives dialogue scholarship an evocative depiction of an experience that appears to defy language. Given the limited theoretical base in business, it offers access to knowledge to correct an overreliance on Bohm. Contributions to practice include an increased awareness of the kind of space needed for people to inquire into questions of abiding concern