Mindful Pause

Political conversations tend to bring out activation and polarization. This is not a reason to avoid them. To avoid falling into the pitfalls of polarization, use a mindful approach that fosters curiosity. Instead of defending a position, make it your goal to know more about each other through the discussion. This talk describes a format that helps youmake this a more satisfying experience:

* Explicitly commit to building safety and trust
* Put the issue into a personal context
* Ask a meaningful question
* Discuss lessons learned



You can download a printable PDF transcript of this article. 
Reprint of the article on Medium: How to depolarize political conversations.

This approach was inspired by the structured process developed by Kirk Schneider, President of the Existential Humanist Institute, author of “The Depolarization of America.”

Published September 2020. See also related article: Understanding social myth: Why it’s so hard to find common ground & how to do it.