By Carla Cole, DCI Coordinator
Cadie McNaboe, 2020-2021 Deliberative Citizenship Initiative Fellow and Co-Convener and Davison ‘22 political science major, shares the impact deliberation has had on her life in the Davidson Journal Magazine article, “Moving From the Loudest Voice to Listener, From Debate to Deliberation.” Cadie discusses how her training and experiences as a Fellow with the DCI helped her in her classes and personal relationships. Cadie notes the importance of active listening and how her use of conversation maps helped her to become more engaged in her classes and other conversations.
Regarding her experience facilitating DCI discussions for forums and D Teams, Cadie states, “As a facilitator in the deliberations, my role wasn’t to amplify my own thoughts. Instead my goal was to create space for all participants to share, and then guide them in seeing how their different perspectives overlapped. Going from a mindset that highlights the importance of your opinion to a model where all voices are meant to be equal, was a fundamental shift.”
Cadie embraced this shift and implemented it into various aspects of her life, including family dinners where potentially divisive conversations took place. Cadie was able to facilitate a family conversation about contentious political issues and find areas of common ground rather than chaos. Cadie says she isn’t sure whether deliberation can transform our democracy, but says, “what I do know for certain is that deliberation has fundamentally transformed me.” You can read the full article here.
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