1. The purpose of dialogue is to understand and learn from one another. (You cannot "win" a dialogue.)
   
   
2. All dialogue participants speak for themselves, not as representatives of groups or special interests.
   
   
3. Treat everyone in a dialogue as an equal: leave role, status and stereotypes at the door.
   
   
4. Be open and listen to others even when you disagree, and suspend judgment. (Try not to rush to judgment).
   
   
5. Search for assumptions (especially your own).
   
   
6. Listen with empathy to the views of others: acknowledge you have heard the other especially when you disagree.
   
   
7. Look for common ground.
   
   
8. Express disagreement in terms of ideas, not personality or motives.
   
   
9. Keep dialogue and decision-making as separate activities. (Dialogue should always come before decision-making.)
   
   
10. All points of view deserve respect and all will be recorded (without attribution).

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