There’s…
1. the kind where one person talks, the others listen, then there are responses consisting of a few polite, maybe interested, questions, then the roles reverse.
2. the kind where everyone “listens”, but only actually thinks about what they’ll say about themselves and then responds according to that thought process, instead of what was said.
3. the kind where everyone builds on what one another is saying, mostly in agreement, and adding new facts.
4. the kind where everyone is in disagreement, and there are informed positions of dissent expressed through acknowledgement of recognized facts and adequate refuting of expressed views.
5. the kind where everyone is in disagreement without reason other than to frivolously debate, and no one knows how the conversation, or chaotic rambling of non-sequential ideas, goes from point A to point B.
6. the kind where there are false claims and outlandish statements all around that for whatever reason (and there may be many) are accepted as stated.
7. the kind where one party is totally there and the others have glazed expressions, but nobody notices because there are different levels of social acumen around the circle and everyone is slightly disillusioned at the end.
Jen Bokoff 