Talk to the enemy?

You say you want to be a confident communicator. Let’s jump into the deep end. This week, the 2 Minute Tip is covering ways to talk to people with different political opinions. 

An organization called Braver Angels hosts conversations with people from opposite sides of the aisle in all 50 states. We’ll take a look at some of their techniques this week.

First, some surprising statistics to give you hope. 

According to a recent study, 67% of Americans believe it’s important to get along with people they disagree with, 83% said they would respect someone who disagrees with them politically as long as the person respected them back, and 80% said they would be happy to engage in respectful conversations.

Well, what do you know? Maybe it is possible to move past our mutual hostility. 

If you believe, as I do, that someone’s political opinions aren’t the only thing that defines them, you may be the brave soul who initiates the healing of America. 

You just need to communicate with the respect that people on the other side of the aisle think they’re not getting.

The key is to put out what you want to receive back. To set your intent, not to influence by proving yourself right, but simply to understand and find common ground. 

You have far more influence over other people than you realize. When you’re calm and compassionate, I guarantee that 99% of other Americans will respect you right back. 

Tune in tomorrow for advice from the founder of Braver Angels.