More than 75 students from across Grounds gathered in Garrett Hall on Monday to kick off this year’s hallmark “Batten Hour” speaker series with an interactive discussion titled “’Good’ Public Speech: Incentivizing Dialogue Over Debate.”

“This will lay the groundwork for positive discourse, both here at Batten and beyond,” said Assistant Dean Jill Rockwell during introductory remarks, noting  the gravity of preparing for the “invariably tough questions that might come up” during this presidential election season.

Three University of Virginia faculty members led the discussion, sharing their deep experience and training in community dialogue, negotiation and effective leadership: Brian N. Williams, UVA Batten professor and head of the PEGLLLLAB; Frank Dukes, with the Institute for Engagement and Negotiation; and Rachel Wahl, associate professor with the School of Education and Human Development. 

The event featured three break-out sessions for attendees to talk with one another in response to specific questions from the panelists. Here are the takeaways:

Dig down into the nature of disagreement

When people from opposing political viewpoints come together for a conversation, very few actually change their mind about the issues, Wahl said. What does change is how they feel about each other, and in fact, “having opposing discourse clarifies and deepens their commitment to justice.” Notably, this doesn’t just come from establishing common ground, but “the harder thing and really important thing, is to dig down into the nature of your disagreement.”

Wahl, whose work has centered on bringing together people with opposing views for dialogue, added that this space where differences can surface without being “deeply antagonistic” is vital to successful conversations. 

Creating forums to foster such speech leads to “a much wider and better range of options, a more humane range of options, more legitimacy for decisions based on those options and creates a cycle of virtuous engagement in communities,” Dukes noted, adding that it’s important not to “rush to agreement” either. There is inherent value in doing the difficult, uncomfortable work of fleshing out differences in ethics, values and livelihoods, he said.

It’s okay to have emotions

Often, political issues reflect what people need to feel safe and be happy. It’s important to hear someone’s story, and sometimes their parents’ or grandparents’ stories, to understand them better, Wahl said. One such example came from Dukes, who shared his own story about how his family survived the horrors of Nazi occupation.

“My family history instilled in me the complementary notions – not contradictory notions – that we need to work for both justice and for peace,” Dukes said, offering a glimpse into what is often at the heart of difficult conversations: the deeply personal fibers that weave the fabric of complex political issues. Contrary to the notion of stifling these truths, though, the facilitators emphasized their necessity.

Dukes said the best mediators and facilitators are not afraid of emotions but rather, are afraid of those emotions not surfacing; neutrality often indicates the topic is not hitting on the hard stuff that needs to be talked about.

Leadership is local

The facilitators also emphasized the right-sizing of public speech. Wahl said that having deep discourse in colleges and universities can change the incentives for political elites, who tend to prioritize winning elections over having meaningful dialogue.

Williams said that interest in bipartisan solutions “brings to the fore the opportunity for courageous followership,” a concept grounded in embracing shared purpose, not charismatic – and fallible – leadership. “We've been kind of conditioned to orbit around leaders, but if leaders lead you down the wrong path and they're not modeling the right behavior, we can find ourselves in a very difficult kind of position.”

A lot of what influences us is localized within our families, neighborhoods and communities, Dukes said. “Most people still really want that. They want to be with people that care for each other. Maybe, if enough of us do that, we can influence that.”

Be present

When asked what the facilitators wanted the students to take away from the discussion, the crux of their answers hinged on how we show up.

“If you ask somebody a question from a place of respect and curiosity, they’re far more likely to sincerely ask themselves the question and to listen to your answer,” Wahl said.

For Williams showing up reflects  our proximity to one another and interacting in ways that “appreciate who that person is and where they’re coming from, and hopefully they can appreciate who I am and where I’m coming from and that can move the needle in a positive way.”

Dukes circled back to a quote he referenced during opening remarks while cautioning against excluding viewpoints: “It’s really difficult to change perception of someone once they’ve been made to believe they don’t matter.”