In this group conversation with author Fred Dust we will look at how to perfect humanities oldest and least lethal tool – conversation – using creativity. While the author will read selections from the book, we will also practice crafting hard conversations together. In this session we will explore illuminations – very short stories – as a means of revealing interesting and surprising facts about who we are and what we believe. In addition we will explore the whys of rules and how changing them can change a conversation, or even change the world. Finally, we will practice the art of Lectio Divinia, the use of a passage, any passage from a book, to guide us through conversations that need design and art to navigate.

A former Senior Partner and Global Managing Director at the legendary design firm IDEO shows how to design conversations and meetings that are creative and impactful.  

Conversations are one of the most fundamental means of communicating we have as humans. At their best, conversations are unconstrained, authentic and open—two or more people sharing thoughts and ideas in a way that bridges our individual experiences, achieves a common goal. At their worst, they foster misunderstanding, frustration and obscure our real intentions.

How often do you walk away from a conversation feeling really heard? That it moved the people in it forward in some important way? You’re not alone. In his practice as a designer, Fred Dust began to approach conversations differently. After years of trying to broker communication between colleagues and clients, he came to believe there had to a way to design the art of conversation itself with intention and purpose, but still artful and playful. Making Conversation codifies what he learned and outlines the four elements essential to successful exchanges: Commitment, Creative Listening, Clarity, and Context. Taken together, these four elements form a set of resources anyone can use to be more deliberate and purposeful in making conversations work.