Proposal

Dialogue sessions — previously called Birds of a Feather (BoF) — are participant-driven conversations where people with shared interests in data visualization explore questions together.

Think of these as facilitated conversations, not presentations or panels. Your role it to create a space for peers to compare experiences and develop collective insight — not deliver a mini-talk or disguised workshop.

Writing Your Proposal

A strong proposal shows you can frame a meaningful conversation and facilitate it effectively. Focus on clarity of intent and quality of questions. Why is this conversation worth having, and how will you help participants engage productively?

Use these as prompts for your outline:

Who is this dialogue for? — Describe the participants who would benefit most. Are they practitioners, researchers, designers, managers, students, or mixed roles? What shared interest connects them?
What central question or theme will anchor the discussion? — Frame this as an open, generative prompt — not a lecture topic. Strong Dialogue sessions start with a question participants can respond to from experience.
Why is this conversation needed now? — Explain the tension, uncertainty, emerging practice, or unresolved challenge that makes this worth discussing together.
What perspectives or experiences should be represented? — Suggest the kinds of voices, contexts, or case experiences that would enrich the room.
How will you structure the conversation? — Sketch your facilitation plan. Example: opening prompt → small group breakouts → full group synthesis → shared takeaways. Show you'll guide the discussion, not dominate it.
What should participants walk away with? – Could be shared patterns, clarified questions, peer connections, contrasting approaches, or a list of next experiments.
What preparation (if any) will participants need? — Should participants bring examples, questions, tools, or prior experience?

Dialogue Session Formats

Choose a structure that supports shared participation rather than one-way delivery.

Format	Description
Open Question Circle	Poses a core question and guide rotating responses
Experience Exchange	Participants share short real-world cases and lessons
Problem Clinic	Volunteers present challenges; group offers perspectives
Debate & Contrast	Structured comparison of differing approaches
Pattern Mining	Group extracts common patterns across experiences
Future Mapping	Participants explore scenarios and emerging directions

What Makes a Strong Dialogue Session

A clear framing question
Inclusive participation design
Light but intentional facilitation
Space for disagreement and nuance
Visible synthesis at the end
Focus on peer learning over expert delivery

Think of your role as a conversation architect, not a presenter.

Overview

Dialogue Formats