Strangers in dialogue

In her dissertation 'Strangers in dialogue' Sanne Akkerman studied the collaboration and communication of groups of academics with different backgrounds and disciplines who have the aim to create something collaboratively. She used the concepts of 'voice' and 'I-position' to examine these processes and has interesting conclusions. One of these conclusions is that people tend to understand others too quickly. They tend to place the words of the others too easily in their own frame of reference:

"The project members described specific orientations to advance. However, during the negotiation processes in this collaboration project, these multiple voices were not made explicit for each other; neither within instances of misunderstanding and disagreements, nor within instances of understandings and agreements. The case illustrated how people most easily transform what is said by the other into what is known and familiar to one self; words and labels are often understood in own terms. This hampers to question further what is said by the other, and so the ‘otherness’ of the other, providing different perspectives and different ideas, is left unexplored".

Akkerman states that people should rather see each other as strangers than as acquaintances that only differ a little bit from themselves. Only then diversity can be used optimally.

The defense of this dissertation was in June (cum laude!!) and the book is online available at the website of IVLOS. It is absolutely worthwhile reading. 

Akkerman, S.(2006). Strangers in dialogue, Academic collaboration across organizational boundaries. Doctoral dissertation University of Utrecht.