New Methodologies for Public Conversation works to change the modes of public discourse in service of knowledge sharing and community building. Focus on the domestic and familiar is used as a strategy to increase participation by distancing participants from an institutional formality for public address. Insights have been separated into four sections by protocol.

Porch Sitting

• Replacing the practice of talking about what ‘we know’ with what ‘we wonder’ can produce a more accessible form of knowledge sharing.
• A side-by-side format changes the quality of conversation, allowing for more reflection and a less declarative approach.

 Situation Room

• Selecting a Council on the basis of affinities can help privilege marginalised voices in public discourse.
• Encouraging participants to share anxieties in a public forum can help reduce isolation.
• Applying buried desires to societal issues can produce a basis for innovative solutions.

Public Studio

• The quality of listening changes when an audience is given agency in a problem-solving process.
• The in-process aspect of a design or artist studio produces a productive atmosphere for knowledge sharing.

Care Café

• The familiarity of a café set up and the frame of care allows for conversation between strangers.
• Hands-on activities provided at tables help eliminate some self-consciousness and promote conversation.