During the Dialogue Incubator, Tim explored how he could bring students in the Master's programme in Climate Law into conversation with representatives of the fossil fuel industry. Even within such a highly polarised topic, dialogue created space for curiosity and mutual understanding.
Why dialogue?
"Lawyers are trained to defend their position and prove the other side wrong. We're much less equipped to truly listen and understand." According to Tim, sound legal judgement requires understanding what is at stake for the different parties involved. Yet this way of working receives relatively little attention in legal education and practice. "The idea of exploring something meaningful together seemed like a valuable complement to what we're already good at: debating and trying to prove our point."
Dialogue in practice
Tim translated this idea into his teaching. Students first received a short dialogue training before engaging in conversations with a representative from the fossil fuel industry. Where these encounters had sometimes previously felt like a "firing squad," students instead learned to ask open questions and approach the conversation with genuine curiosity about the other person's perspective. "We didn't have to agree with the other side. But by the end of the conversation, we wanted to better understand why they think, say and do what they do."
According to Tim, this gave students a much deeper understanding of the interests and dilemmas underlying different perspectives. At the same time, he became increasingly aware of how easily his own habits could stand in the way of genuine dialogue. "It made me much more aware of my own blind spots and the habits that can unintentionally obstruct dialogue."
What did it achieve?
The Dialogue Incubator also reinforced for Tim that meaningful dialogue never happens automatically. Especially in a polarised field such as climate change, it requires constant professional judgement. After all, not every participant enters a conversation with the same intentions. How do you remain open to another person's perspective without allowing the dialogue to become part of someone else's public relations strategy?
For Tim, navigating precisely this tension has become an essential part of dialogical practice. "The beauty of dialogue is that it frees you from the mission of convincing the other person. That takes the pressure out of the conversation and ultimately brings you closer to a shared understanding of the issue."
Author: Anna Aris
