CCC launched realtalk@MIT for incoming students to connect, learn, and share their experiences

Over 100 students engaged in meaningful, small-group conversations facilitated by their peers

MIT Center for Constructive Communication | 09.19.2024
Students gather for a recorded conversation about what brought them to MIT and what hopes they have for the upcoming year.

In August, CCC trained over 70 students to effectively facilitate small-group conversations, also recording and highlighting many of these conversations on the newly developed Fora app

Nearly half of these trainees went on to facilitate conversations with incoming graduate and undergraduate students. Each group of 4-6 students discussed what values brought them to MIT, what they are hoping for in this upcoming year, and how the group members’ experiences intersected or differed. 

So, what is realtalk@MIT?

realtalk@MIT is a new dialogue network that brings together human conversation with digital technologies to foster authentic and nuanced dialogue across the MIT campus. Developed in collaboration with CCC’s closely affiliated non-profit Cortico, realtalk enables the MIT community to come together in guided, small-group conversations to share the values and experiences they bring to MIT as a first step toward building trust and connections among classmates and colleagues.

Deb Roy, CCC director, said: “The realtalk@MIT approach is integral to MIT’s identity as a university that sees the most difficult problems not as obstacles, but rather as challenges to overcome. This is who we are as both individuals and as an institution.”

Deb Roy speaks to a group of undergraduates during the conversation training day on August 22nd.

As the year progresses, other cohorts of students, staff, faculty, and alumni will come together for similar conversations as well as those initiated by the community on additional areas of interest. The long-term goal of realtalk@MIT is to establish trusted communication channels and build a culture of listening and shared understanding across boundaries at MIT. 

Elena Sapora, realtalk@MIT program lead, shared, “We have observed the power of these small group conversations in building connections among individual students. Next we are excited to work with the community to elevate the voices of MIT through the AI-assisted sensemaking process, and begin to paint the constellation of our collective experiences. Anyone at MIT who is curious about the process, or would like to get involved, please reach out!”

The program is designed to give all members of our community the opportunity to hear – and be heard. Stories emerging from realtalk conversations reflect a wide range of life experiences, enabling participants who share their stories – and who listen to others’ – to discover new connections and hear new perspectives within the community. realtalk@MIT also provides participants the opportunity to elevate their stories for MIT leaders who might not otherwise hear them as the community joins together to  build a constellation of MIT voices that reflect the full diversity of our experiences.  

Go to the realtalk@MIT web page or email realtalk@mit.edu to learn more about the program, join our mailing list, or express your interest in getting involved as a participant; get trained as a conversation leader or as sensemaker; or bring realtalk@MIT to your dorm, group, or department.

A sign indicates a realtalk@MIT conversation room during the undergraduate conversation day on August 29th.