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Pre-Dialogue Survey

Before We Gather: Your Starting Point

You were invited to this dialogue because of the leadership you already carry. This survey takes about three minutes, and it does two things.

First, it shapes the morning. Facilitators read these responses before Saturday, so what you write here helps build the room around what you and your fellow leaders actually bring.

Second, it establishes a starting point. We will ask you a few of these same questions again when the dialogue ends. The distance between your two sets of answers is how we show — to ourselves, to partners, and to funders — what one morning of structured dialogue can move. Your part in that is simply answering honestly, twice.

There are no right answers, and no level of experience is expected. Individual responses stay confidential; results are reported only in combination.

About This Dialogue


  • Event: Inaugural INVLA Leadership Dialogue Signature Event
  • Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
  • Location: The Huffington Conference Center, 1324 S. Normandie Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006
  • Host: Institute for Nonviolence Los Angeles — Days of Dialogue
  • Tagline: Building Trust. Strengthening Leadership. Inspiring Community Action.

So We Can Pair Your Two Surveys

This is the only section that asks who you are, and it is the section that makes the whole measurement work.

We ask for your name and email only so we can pair this survey with the one you complete at the end of the morning. That pairing is what lets us say how much a single dialogue actually shifts confidence and commitment. Your name is never attached to any result we publish, share, or report.

Your Leadership Context

This replaces a general-audience demographic profile with the picture of leadership capacity in the room — the figure partners and funders ask for first.

Which sector best describes your work?
Which best describes your leadership role?
Roughly how many people does your work reach in a typical year?
Your best estimate is fine. This lets us describe the collective reach of the leaders in this room.
Which INVLA programs are you already connected to?
Have you participated in a facilitated dialogue before?
Have you ever facilitated or convened a dialogue yourself?
Either answer is welcome. Many of the strongest voices in these rooms are first-timers.

Where You Are Starting Today

These seven statements repeat word-for-word at the end of the morning. Please answer for how you feel right now, before anything has happened. A low number is not a wrong answer — an honest starting point is far more useful to us than a generous one, and it is what makes any growth visible.

A1. I feel confident engaging in conversations across serious differences.
Not at all confident234Very confident
Not at all confident
2
3
4
Very confident
A2. I feel confident facilitating or convening a dialogue like this one within my own organization or community.
Not at all confident234Very confident
Not at all confident
2
3
4
Very confident
A3. Structured dialogue leads to real action, not just conversation.
Strongly disagree234Strongly agree
Strongly disagree
2
3
4
Strongly agree
A4. I trust that leaders from sectors other than my own are willing to work with me on shared problems.
Strongly disagree234Strongly agree
Strongly disagree
2
3
4
Strongly agree
A5. I have a network of leaders outside my own organization I could call on for a shared effort.
Strongly disagree234Strongly agree
Strongly disagree
2
3
4
Strongly agree
A6. I feel open to hearing perspectives that differ from my own.
Not open234Very open
Not open
2
3
4
Very open
A7. I have a clear sense of what I would do next to turn a conversation into action.
Not at all clear234Very clear
Not at all clear
2
3
4
Very clear
How familiar are you with the themes of today’s dialogue?
Not familiar234Very familiar
Not familiar
2
3
4
Very familiar
We read every one of these before Saturday, and your facilitator receives the themes from your table.
Which of today’s dialogue themes matters most to your work?
Shared with facilitators as anonymous themes only, never attributed. Naming it in advance is often what makes it possible to say out loud.
Accessibility needs, language, seating, timing — anything at all. We would rather adjust the room than have you work around it.

Optional Demographic Information

Every question here is optional and reported only in aggregate, never individually. We ask because we want to be honest with ourselves and with our partners about who this work is reaching — and who it is not reaching yet.

Age range
Under 18 removed — this is an invited-leader event, and the option added noise without use.
Gender identity
Race / ethnicity
Added Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and a self-describe line — both were missing.
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