Types of Communication
(Debate - Dialogue - Dialectic - Discourse - Diatribe)
Adapted from David W. Angel:
"When talking with someone, it is helpful to know what type of conversation you are in. You can do so based on a conversation’s direction of communication (a one-way or two-way street) and its tone/purpose (competitive or cooperative).
If you are in a one-way conversation, you are talking at someone, rather than with someone. If you are in a two-way conversation, participants are both listening and talking. In a competitive conversation, people are more concerned about their own perspective, whereas in a cooperative conversation participants are interested in the perspective of everyone involved..."
Two-Way Communication
Debate
"Debate is a competitive, two-way conversation. The goal is to win an argument or convince someone, such as the other participant or third-party observers."
Example: "Two family members from opposite sides of the political spectrum arguing over politics."
Dialogue
"Dialogue is a cooperative, two-way conversation. The goal is for participants to exchange information [i.e., not necessarily limited to objective knowledge claims or forms of evidence] and build relationships with one another. [Mutual understanding and ethical engagement across difference are prioritized above the pursuit of objective truth if agreement on the latter seems unattainable.]"
Example: "Two undecided voters talking to each other about the candidates, trying to figure out who they want to vote for [or trying to understand one another's reasons for voting for different candidates]."
Dialectic
Dialectic is a cooperative, two-way conversation. The goal is for participants with opposing views to make objective claims (theses) and counter-claims (antitheses), and critically examine one another's claims and supporting evidence for the purpose of moving both parties' beliefs closer to the objective truth (synthesis).
Example: One person makes a purportedly factual claim about a political candidate's record. Another person makes a directly relevant, purportedly factual counterclaim about the same issue. The two critically, but cooperatively examine each others' arguments and leave the conversation with a more accurate understanding of the objective truth.
One-Way Communication
Discourse
"Discourse is a cooperative, one-way... [communication]. The goal to deliver information from the speaker/writer to the listeners/readers."
Example: A candidate for public office giving a persuasive political speech to a cooperative and attentive audience.
Diatribe
"Diatribe is a competitive, one-way... [form of communication]. The goal is to express emotions, browbeat those that disagree with you, and/or inspire those that share the same perspective."
Example: "A disgruntled voter venting about the election’s outcome."
Communication Awareness
"It is important to know which type of... [communication] you are [engaged] in, because that determines the purpose of that... [communication]. If you can identify the purpose, you can better speak to the heart of that [form of communication]... But, if you misidentify... [it], you can fall into... [communication] pitfalls.
Here are a few examples of... pitfalls I’ve [Angel] written about:
“Talking At, Not With: The Problem of Disconnected Conversations” — sometimes your dialogue might actually be two separate discourses (or diatribes) instead; will you recognize that in time?
“When Arguing Over Value Issues, Sometimes Facts and Truth Don’t Matter” — sometimes people just want to diatribe; what can you do when that happens, especially when you want to have a dialogue or debate?
If someone appears to be in a conversational pitfall, you can help them climb back out. Regardless of how one climbs back out, the solution always starts with identifying which hole you are in. You must first know the problem before you can find the solution. And, sometimes, just identifying the pitfall itself is enough to draw attention to the problem and correct the conversation...
When you are in a conversation, take a moment to think about which conversation you are actually in. Each of the types of conversation are meaningless on their own; you give them meaning in their use. And, ultimately, it is up to you to decide what type of conversation you want to be part of."
"When talking with someone, it is helpful to know what type of conversation you are in. You can do so based on a conversation’s direction of communication (a one-way or two-way street) and its tone/purpose (competitive or cooperative).
If you are in a one-way conversation, you are talking at someone, rather than with someone. If you are in a two-way conversation, participants are both listening and talking. In a competitive conversation, people are more concerned about their own perspective, whereas in a cooperative conversation participants are interested in the perspective of everyone involved..."
Two-Way Communication
Debate
"Debate is a competitive, two-way conversation. The goal is to win an argument or convince someone, such as the other participant or third-party observers."
Example: "Two family members from opposite sides of the political spectrum arguing over politics."
Dialogue
"Dialogue is a cooperative, two-way conversation. The goal is for participants to exchange information [i.e., not necessarily limited to objective knowledge claims or forms of evidence] and build relationships with one another. [Mutual understanding and ethical engagement across difference are prioritized above the pursuit of objective truth if agreement on the latter seems unattainable.]"
Example: "Two undecided voters talking to each other about the candidates, trying to figure out who they want to vote for [or trying to understand one another's reasons for voting for different candidates]."
Dialectic
Dialectic is a cooperative, two-way conversation. The goal is for participants with opposing views to make objective claims (theses) and counter-claims (antitheses), and critically examine one another's claims and supporting evidence for the purpose of moving both parties' beliefs closer to the objective truth (synthesis).
Example: One person makes a purportedly factual claim about a political candidate's record. Another person makes a directly relevant, purportedly factual counterclaim about the same issue. The two critically, but cooperatively examine each others' arguments and leave the conversation with a more accurate understanding of the objective truth.
One-Way Communication
Discourse
"Discourse is a cooperative, one-way... [communication]. The goal to deliver information from the speaker/writer to the listeners/readers."
Example: A candidate for public office giving a persuasive political speech to a cooperative and attentive audience.
Diatribe
"Diatribe is a competitive, one-way... [form of communication]. The goal is to express emotions, browbeat those that disagree with you, and/or inspire those that share the same perspective."
Example: "A disgruntled voter venting about the election’s outcome."
Communication Awareness
"It is important to know which type of... [communication] you are [engaged] in, because that determines the purpose of that... [communication]. If you can identify the purpose, you can better speak to the heart of that [form of communication]... But, if you misidentify... [it], you can fall into... [communication] pitfalls.
Here are a few examples of... pitfalls I’ve [Angel] written about:
“Talking At, Not With: The Problem of Disconnected Conversations” — sometimes your dialogue might actually be two separate discourses (or diatribes) instead; will you recognize that in time?
“When Arguing Over Value Issues, Sometimes Facts and Truth Don’t Matter” — sometimes people just want to diatribe; what can you do when that happens, especially when you want to have a dialogue or debate?
If someone appears to be in a conversational pitfall, you can help them climb back out. Regardless of how one climbs back out, the solution always starts with identifying which hole you are in. You must first know the problem before you can find the solution. And, sometimes, just identifying the pitfall itself is enough to draw attention to the problem and correct the conversation...
When you are in a conversation, take a moment to think about which conversation you are actually in. Each of the types of conversation are meaningless on their own; you give them meaning in their use. And, ultimately, it is up to you to decide what type of conversation you want to be part of."