What is Deep Talk?

Deep Talk is a dialogical tool that uses stories told with objects as a stimulus for conversations. The method was originally developed for use in the workplace to help teams communicate. Since then it has been adopted as a well-being and community-building intervention in a variety of educational, professional and community settings, and is increasingly seen as a useful tool in mediation, coaching, and professional development contexts. (See (PDF) Deep Talk: A Dialogic Instruction Method for Enhancing the Sense of Belonging (researchgate.net)) Since then it has been adopted as a well-being and community-building intervention in a variety of educational, professional and community settings, and is increasingly seen as a useful tool in mediation, coaching, and professional development contexts. 

A Deep Talk session has four stages during which a story is presented to the group using symbolic objects. The group can then appropriate and use the narrative and its themes to consider and address issues and experiences in real life. Hospitality, equality and openness are key values of the 'Deep Talk' community, and practitioners seek to use the method to support individuals and groups develop their own best approaches to the challenges they experience. (See 01 Deep Talk theory and practice by Tuula Valkonen (wordpress.com))

Anyone can train to deliver Deep Talk, and it has been successfully adapted to make a positive contribution to contexts as varied as factories, elder care settings, offices and schools.