Collaborative Discussion Quotes

A lot of the math that I do, it's not sort of premeditated. I talk online or with a colleague, and I get interested, and I just follow where it leads.

I hate the way people use slide presentations instead of thinking. People would confront a problem by creating a presentation. I wanted them to engage, to hash things out at the table, rather than show a bunch of slides. People who know what they're talking about don't need PowerPoint.

I want to get his views, and we might talk on problems over the carcass of a deer.

We must have real debates where disagreements exist, listen to each other, not shy away from ideas different from our own and treat people with respect.

Talk and write in a way that encourages the mutual exchange of ideas and acts like a midwife to people birthing their own ideas.

The true spirit of conversation consists in building on another man's observation, not overturning it.

Being surrounded by diverse points of view pushes us beyond our comfort zones. And when people and teams bring multiple perspectives and experiences to the table, the discussions are deeper, the decision-making process is better, and the solutions are stronger.

I have a running conversation with a couple of colleagues. Mike Schmidt's one of them; some on my White House team are others; Alex Burns on the politics team is another. That just helps me not lose my place, right? We're just constantly talking about what we're hearing and where things are.

The first thing you have to learn is how to conduct dialogue and how to make it productive.

When topics are complex and meaty, don't create a never-ending email thread. It's amazing how much time people waste composing and reading carefully-worded essays, when a 5 minute in-person chat would resolve the whole thing.

I'm a big believer in debate and difference of opinion.

In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.

To have diversity of opinion in the debate strengthens the outcome and you get a better result.

Let's grease the wheel over tea, let's discuss things in confidence. Let's be outspoken, let's be ridiculous, let's solve the world's problems.

It takes a year for us to generate a script that is ready to shoot. There are maybe 20 drafts of a script. And, each time, someone saying 'I don't really love this,' we discuss it for 15 minutes.

It's really nice when you can sit down with somebody and just talk to them, and talk about your ideas and what you think the character is, and they respond to it. It's a really nice way to do it, but it doesn't happen very often.

If you and I always agree, then one of us is redundant.

I looked at a lot of the comics and I tried to just get an idea from that. Not necessarily specifics of what my look would be or what the plan would be because I knew the script was evolving. I then started the discussion with Ken, who had been in discussion with you guys, intimately. And that they'd pared it down.

Great teams argue. Not in a mean-spirited or personal way, but they disagree when important decisions are made.

It's no use imagining that bringing great writers together inevitably precipitates great conversation.