Colloquy

A discussion between two teams representing different points of view in the presence of an audience.[Advantages]

Tends to enable a thorough airing of divergent points of view. High interest level for the audience. Particularly useful when there are observation teams listening for specific arenas of agreement or complementarity between the different views expressed by members of the teams.

[Disadvantages]

Tends to polarize the audience who can fall back into the debating mode in their small group discussions, rather than seeking for the synergistic and creative way forward. As in many of the conferencing modes that emphasize the passive audience, there is an overemphasis on the importance of the individual performance of those on the platform, with the risk of missing the opportunity to tap the creativity of all the participants.