Thought Lounge

Thought Lounge is a nonprofit international coalition of clubs (chapters) on college campuses working to foster the practice of intentional, in-person conversation, grounded in the Thought Lounge 5 Agreements of Dialogue: I. Listen to each person as if they are the most important person in the world II. Suspend initial judgment III. Creative conflict is good IV. Speak authentically V. Equity of voice Thought Lounge was founded in 2014 around the practice of the Thought Lounge Session (TL Session). In a nutshell, a TL Session is a small-group, lightly structured format for dialogue. 3-6 participants are brought together IN-PERSON (not online) by a Host, who also participates. Participants are asked to come prepared to lead a 12 minute CONVERSATION (not a lecture) however they like on a topic that is at the frontier of their mind and closest to their heart. After each participant/topic has had its time, each topic is written on a whiteboard and an additional 12 minutes is given to connect across topics. TL chapters work to achieve the mission by regularly hosting TL Sessions, community events, and partnering with other organizations for events that cultivate similar dialogic values. Thousands of students have participated in our events and received moderation and leadership training through Thought Lounge. Thought Lounge represents a step toward (re)cultivating a dialogic tradition that is much needed in our day and age. Read more about Thought Lounge philosophy and values at thoughtlounge.org/manifesto.