Civil and Respectful: How to Argue Civilly
I'm a subscriber to the VitalSmarts Crucial Skills newsletter. VitalSmarts is a training company and a team of authors responsible for excellent books and trainings, like Crucial Conversations, Crucial Accountability. and The Influencer. You can find them all on Amazon and on their website, along with downloadable free resources.
In a recent newsletter, Joseph Grenny's post on "How to Argue Civilly" is a brief summary of best practices for the kinds of emotional conversations we might have with loved ones, especially around the holidays. I got curious about who else is writing on this topic, and did a little research on "how to argue civilly." A quick Google search returned pages of possibilities. I list three here that I found particularly useful.
In this time of unrest and polarization, I'm doing what I can to engage my own difficult conversations with respect, curiosity and compassion. If someone thinks or feels differently about a candidate, a policy, or a party, what harm can come from learning how they arrived at their opinions? Most of the time, I find differences fascinating, not frustrating.
That said, I've written a lot recently on how to communicate successfully, so I'll stop here and let you read what others are saying.
Ki (pronounced “key”) is Japanese for universal energy or life force; it’s the symbol I use as my logo. Ki Moments are those moments in which you are fully aware of your life force and your ability to influence your environment. Ki Moments hold challenge and opportunity. How you handle them is what makes life interesting and powerful.
