Tips and Tricks: Managing Challenging Conversations

One thing we know is that whatever happens in the U.S. election, along with political events throughout the world, we are likely to face some very challenging conversations with people in our lives who do not share our viewpoints. It's important to plan in advance how to manage these conversations to keep them as constructive as possible.

Tide Risers recently hosted Kimberly McGlonn, PhD and Scotland E. Nash EdD for a workshop on challenging conversations. Their advice was to enter challenging conversations with these five commitments:

1. Recognize and put down your defensiveness

2. Learn something in the discussion

3. Have a dialogue instead of giving alternative speeches

4. Assess whether you are the right person to say what is on your mind

5. End the discussion knowing that you have strengthened your relationship

Try to incorporate these commitments into your conversations over the next few weeks. For further reading, here's an article that includes links to several resources that may also be useful.