Join us in the exciting social experiment. Have a meaningful conversation with your friends and friends of friends that have differing viewpoints about an issue or issues that you might typically avoid for fear of finding you disagree. Open your ears, your mind and your home through Living Room Conversations. This open-source project provides a self-guided structured process which empowers you to have a 2 ½ hour small group conversation that is respectful, overcomes defensiveness and generates a heartfelt connection around the topic you choose.
We are aware of Living Room Conversations that have taken place around the following topics: energy/climate, money in politics, and immigration (this conversation was a 2nd conversation inspired when the issue came up in the money in politics conversation.). You can view the questions that were specifically designed for these Living Room Conversations here:
Climate Change/Energy Independence
2nd Living Room Conversation on Immigration (All or most of the participants in this LRC have had one LRC together & have now chosen to gather for a 2nd LRC.)
Living Room Conversations on interfaith dialogue and government reform are currently being designed. If you would like help creating a Living Room Conversation around your chosen topic or area of concern, please contact us.
Material Downloads
- Host Invite | Download as Word Doc | Download as PDF
- Participant Invite | Download as Word Doc | Download as PDF
- Participant Packet | Download as Word Doc | Download as PDF
- Host Conversation Guide | Download as Word Doc | Download as PDF
- Feedback Form | Download as Word Doc | Download as PDF
Or, download everything you need as a zip file.
These conversations often reveal common ground and participants find themselves uncovering shared values, concerns, and interests that they did not know or think were possible to exist among people with such seemingly opposing viewpoints. Many of the people who have engaged in a Living Room Conversation have a strong desire to talk further in such a setting and have continued to engage in their community. We plan to learn more about these next conversations so that we can develop helpful guides for ongoing conversation.
The Living Room Conversations model starts with self-identified ‘progressive’ and ‘conservative’ co-hosts. Each co-host then reaches out to friends, family members, associates and neighbors to invite two additional participants who share their worldview. Living Room Conversations provides you with free, open-source materials that will guide you through an evening of conversation. This project is ever evolving based upon participant feedback so we strongly encourage you to take notes and share your experiences & recommendations with us to make this process as accessible as possible to Americans from all walks of life.
If you look back throughout the history of our country, many of our grand visions and democratic ideas began with informal conversations in taverns and parlors, coffee shops and living rooms. Patriots, activists, elected officials and volunteers, these Americans talked about their passions, hopes and dreams to good effect. They developed transformative action plans in the melting pot that is the United States of America.
We want civil discourse in the United States to be respectful, constructive, collaborative, solution focused and conducive to empowering healthy communities. The Sierra Club could propose conversations about coal fired power plants, the Tea Party could propose conversations about reducing government spending, Common Cause could propose conversations about reducing corporate influence in politics, local clubs could propose conversations about improving their neighborhood school and individuals could propose conversations with neighbors simply to deepen connections within their community. We dream of respectful conversation becoming the new normal and we hope you will join us in revitalizing this vital piece of American democracy.
Read a first-hand account from a Living Room Conversation co-host in New Hampshire here: http://www.mothertalkers.com/story/2011/2/23/801/87341
In 2010, Living Room Conversations conducted a pilot project including 6 Living Room Conversations with a project team observer and 2 independent Living Room Conversations throughout the country; to read the final report on the Living Room Conversations Pilot Project click here.