Yishai Shalif takes us through the development of the appreciative Inquiry theory that emerged initially as a business theory to its incorporation into a wider understanding of the human psychology. Yishai Shalif explores in this presentation the core principles of the appreciative theory, where Life is ‘multi-storied’, where language controls reality and constructs identity . Depending on the questions one asks oneself, reality is created. Positive inquiry invites a positive reality and with it positive changes.
Human beings are conceived as choice makers: the choices for change. The appreciative inquiry tries to tap into the creativity of humans, in their potential of imagining the future.
Rachel Paran suggests that initially the problem should be defined, in a group or in a family. Different people define different issues to the problem they present all for. Rachel Paran describes the problem as a ‘frustrated dream‘ in oneself; one should look at the dream rather than at the problem. The ‘frustrated dream’ is by analogy ‘What lies behind the shadow, behind the explicit’. Central to the appreciative theory is Identifying the hope, making it a standing or a vantage point, to look from into the future. This presention was illustrated by example of practical applications on the use of the appreciative language.