COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

Community Conversations

WHAT WE OFFER  

Colorado Humanities' Community Conversations are research-informed facilitation, training, and consulting programs designed to help communities and organizations build trust, strengthen relationships, and engage in reflective dialogue. The model anchors conversation in a shared text, image, film, or artifact—an approach that centers interpretation and personal response rather than debate. This lowers defensiveness, fosters curiosity, and creates a neutral space where people with diverse experiences and ideologies can share, listen, learn, and find common ground.  

We deploy this model with nonprofits, civic groups, school districts, municipalities, libraries, agencies, and corporations as a public program, internal leadership tool, or fee-based service. Every engagement is tailored to the partner's specific goals, audience, and context—from building local leadership, to strengthening workplace culture, to supporting community engagement and cross-sector collaboration.  

Colorado Humanities has a proven track record, having worked with 120+ partners, facilitated 53 Conversation programs reaching 2,114 participants in 23 communities, and equipped more than 100 leaders to guide reflective dialogue in their own settings. 

The Model in Action 

"The Colorado Humanities training has fundamentally shifted how I approach dialogue, giving me

practical tools to build bridges in an increasingly polarized environment."  

— Annie Caplan, Director of Engagement, Living Room Conversations 

THE COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS MODEL  

A Humanities-Based Method for Connection and Shared Understanding  

Community Conversations programs use a shared text or object as a reflective entry point. Participants respond to what the text or object evokes—themes, stories, experiences, or emotional resonance—rather than entering a conversation through positions or disagreements.  

This approach: 

• Encourages reflection before reaction 

• Builds empathy through story and interpretation 

• Promotes active listening and perspective-taking 

• Lowers defensiveness and polarized dynamics 

• Creates a shared foundation for collaborative problem-solving 

While the underlying method is consistent, the design and delivery are customized to reflect the cultural, linguistic, organizational, or community context of each partner. Facilitators adapt prompts, materials, pacing, and framing to ensure accessibility and relevance in every setting. 

Civic Effectiveness 

"The facilitation training has made us that much better at orchestrating

town meetings and ensuring that everyone feels heard!"  

— John Clark, Mayor of Ridgway 

WHAT WE DELIVER  

Whether you're facilitating a town hall, engaging residents in policy design, adapting to change, improving team collaboration, increasing leadership skills, or developing and evaluating programs, our holistic approach ensures that the work is grounded in community connection.  

As trainers, facilitators, and consultants, we provide:  

• Tailored facilitated dialogues called Community Conversations   

• Training in our Reflective Conversation Model and Community Based-Research methods 

• Leadership development and team building grounded in reflective learning 

• Consulting and advising services to support the facilitation of civic dialogue, ongoing professional development, and community engagement 

We work with executive leaders and administrators, civic and community leaders, program leads and developers, educators and librarians, artists and creatives, journalists and media professionals, consultants and humanities practitioners, and more. 

Why It Works 

"The reflective community conversation facilitation, training, and consultation supports

professionals and communities to learn about each other… in a non-defensive, non-divisive environment."  

— Tracey Blustein, Consultant 

LET'S BUILD A MORE CONNECTED COLORADO  

Colorado Humanities helps organizations and communities create reflective spaces where people feel heard, respected, and meaningfully connected. Together, we build local capacity for dialogue that supports collaboration, reduces polarization, and strengthens democratic and community life.  

Contact Dr. LaNaya Butler, Director of Innovation & Learning at lanaya@coloradohumanities.org ^[1] to collaborate.

 

Upcoming Conversations

Past Conversations

Change in Rural Colorado – Museum of Friends, Walsenburg | San Luis Valley Museum, Alamosa

Change in Rural Colorado discussions encourage members of the community to engage in thoughtful and constructive discussions regarding the concept of change within their rural towns. In these dialogues, community members reflected on the changes rural towns have gone through and the implications on their personal connections to the local landscape.

Interfaith Dialogue – Basalt Regional Library

To explore the diversity of experiences, values, cultures, and religions in Basalt, this dialogue allowed space for community members to discuss their faith in an inclusive and intentional way.

The Five States of Colorado Screening Schedule and Conversations