Hannan is a Conservative councillor in Cheshire. He was paired with Jess who lives is Liverpool and is training to be a conservationist.

"The deep listening exercise was very useful," Hannan said.

"I actually leaned to stop interrupting people and listening to Jess’s viewpoints, we both got emotional at times and it was really interesting to see how we agreed to disagree in a very respectful way, that isn’t common."

Roopam was paired with Jonathan. Their question was: Are men and women equal in the UK today?

"I saw Jonathan with his red hat on saying ‘Make Britain Great’", Roopam said, "and I thought, please don’t let it be him.

"But actually I think we respectfully decided that we disagree on a lot of things. We had a good conversation about a lot of things."

Joan and Steven were paired together - they were discussing Brexit.

Joan said: "We had opposite views on whether the UK should leave the EU. It was quite lovely to hear Steven say he had found something that I’d been saying interesting and that he agreed with parts of it.

"And that was very different because what I might have done [normally] was interrupt him much sooner earlier on. I was very much involved in a group called Leavers of Manchester but I know there was someone involved in Manchester For Europe – it would be lovely if we could meet up for a coffee!"

Steven said: "We noticed that on the pathway to making our decisions, there were an awful lot of commonalities.

"I think it was great that we actually agreed on 80% of the fundamentals."

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We've been catching up with people to see how the day was for them.

Hannah and Phillip were paired together.

Hannah said: "As much as I found it very difficult not to challenge or probe Phillip, I listened to the reasons why he felt that men and women are currently equal and it was a very personal story.

"I think we all have to start looking at things from a different angle."

Phillip said: "What I’ve gained from today is, there’s more that unites us than divides us.

"The key thing is the media have an important part to play in turning away from the angst and conflict they often seem to seek, and to report more about what unites us."

BBC Radio 5 Live's Tony Livesey recorded a special programme looking back on the day at Crossing Divides Live. He asked the audience if anyone had changed their approach or become a better listener?

One of the most interesting conversations today was between Lindsay and Matthew. They were asked: Should obese people pay more tax to fund the NHS?

Lindsay is a senior support worker and lives in Doncaster - she describes herself as a fat activist. Matthew lives in Manchester and advises the police on tackling knife crime.

Lindsay said: "I get stared at because of my size, and I think this question all stems from the stigma that is attached to my physical appearance, rather what than what people actually think, because they have their theories behind being obese and being fat, like yourself. So I feel the question only applies to fat bodies because of the stigmatisation of us."

Matthew said: "I see things black and white. But I am changing my thinking. You've made a good point. I committed a crime but never got told to paid more to the jail service... Most things you haven't got to pay for, so why obesity? Maybe it is a phobia because people see it as 'most of the population aren't obese, they need to fit in with us'.

"I would agree with you. You've made me see something I didn't think of. You've changed my mind and I am happy to admit it."

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Mark Easton
Home editor

Watching the 50 Crossing Divides Live volunteers come face to face with a fundamentally different opinion proved to be a remarkably positive experience, reinforcing one’s faith in human nature.

At its core, the exercise put listening - not just any listening – but deep listening. This technique requires someone to validate what they are hearing. Not to agree but to demonstrate they understand someone else’s viewpoint.

We tend not to listen to each other in this way. It can feel quite uncomfortable to give real space to arguments with which we disagree.

It proved to be a profound and emotional process, challenging participants to engage in a way that felt almost unnatural as they stripped away layers of understanding of each other’s views. Some of the encounters ended as they had begun, but many produced a connection that was deep and personal. A few of the conversations ended in a hug, a promise to stay in touch. One resulted in tears as the pair realised aspects of their own personality that they had hidden even from themselves.

Such ‘meaningful interaction’ can work very successfully at an individual level, creating relationships and friendships across the divide as people recognise their shared humanity. But the question is whether this kind of exercise has a value at a community level.

Local and national government is looking to meaningful interaction as a way to deal with dangerous social division and improve community cohesion. Its power is evident when one pair of eyes takes the time to stare deeply into the eyes of another. Can we embed deep listening into everyday life and reap the benefits for everyone?

An echo chamber is an environment in which somebody encounters only opinions and beliefs similar to their own, and does not have to consider alternatives.(Oxford English dictionary)

For #CrossingDividesLive, we’ve got our own ‘Empathy Echo Chamber’ designed by Enni-Kukka Tuomala...

We managed to get the whole audience together for a photo!

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Nihal's now on air with our Crossing Divides Live audience and is asking "do we need to spend more time LISTENING to people who disagree with us?"

"It's about trying to find common ground, not about winning the argument or even necessarily changing someone's mind," he says.

"We just wanted to know what happens when people with radically different opinions, backgrounds and experiences step out of their comfort zones and meet face to face."

Remember, you can get in touch by texting 85058, calling 08085 909693 or by using the hashtag #crossingdivideslive

Saima is a solicitor from Bury, Trevor is a retired railway worker from Manchester.

They have been discussing: Was it the right or wrong decision for Britain to vote to leave the EU?

Saima said: "I’m a remainer because I feel like it’s far better to be in the European Union, the privileges I’ve enjoyed since I was born in this country , I don’t know any different. Such as the right to free travel, free movement and the fact that there is a lot of legislation which we enjoy particularly around worker’s rights."

Trevor responded: "So what your argument basically boils down to is, we need the unelected EU bureaucracy to protect us against the Tory government… when it’s possible for the British people, if they don’t like the government, to change the government."

Manchester-based illustrator Myro Coates is recording the day’s events - she's just adding the topics that the audience have been discussing.

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We've been listening in to some of the conversations that the Crossing Divides Live audience have been having. Penney and Sophie are discussing is eating meat wrong?

Penney lives in Nottingham. She said: "I think eating meat is wrong in the context of our over industrialised agricultural system, that does not provide for the welfare of animals...

"The damage that is causes to the environment fundamentally is catastrophic."

Sophie lives in Surrey and grew up in Norfolk. She said: "I see what you're saying, what you're concerned with... where I come from is that I don't support industrial farming either but I am incredibly supportive of the farming sector in its pure form - family butchers, buying from local farmers.

"I can't eat red meat but I try and make the best informed choice to not go for mass produced battery farmed meat but to go for local suppliers.

"Some of the anti-meat eating propaganda I see sometimes, it doesn't take into account that human side of farming."

Image source, Jess and Hannan

Jess and Hannan's question is: Was it the right or wrong decision for Britain to vote to leave the EU?

Jonathan and Roopam's question is: Are men and women equal in the UK today?

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