How to talk across the political divide – Better Angels skills workshop December 19

Andrea Molberg

Want to learn a better way of talking politics? Register for the SaddleBrooke Dec. 19 “Better Angels Skills Workshop: How to Talk Across the Political Divide” by going to https://www.eventbrite.com/o/andrea-molberg-phd-27970294041. Get ready for constructive holiday conversations with tone setting skills, listening skills, speaking skills, and skills for handling difficult moments.

There’s a lot of stress these days among friends and family members who are divided politically, and the current polarized public conversation doesn’t help. Please join us for the free Better Angels Skills Workshop Dec. 19 from 9 a.m.-noon in the Sonoran Room at MountainView to learn skills for having respectful conversations that clarify differences, search for common ground, and affirm the importance of the relationship.

During the workshop you will have the opportunity to practice conversation skills in a pair with someone of your same political persuasion—red or blue. “Reds” lean conservative and tend to vote Republican. “Blues” lean liberal and tend to vote Democratic. If you fall somewhere in the middle, you can choose a side for purposes of practicing the skills.

Better Angels Skills Workshops are led by two trained moderators and have any mix of red (conservative) and blue (liberal/progressive) participants. Skills workshops provide the knowledge of what it takes to have constructive, non-polarizing conversations between people who disagree politically, give the chance to practice the skills to have these conversations, and motivate participants to carefully converse within their social network. Unlike a Red/Blue workshop, Skills Workshops are larger and do not require even numbers of Reds and Blues. There is space for a total of 40 SaddleBrooke participants Dec. 19. Moderators are Better Angels state co-coordinator Nirvair Khalsa and consulting psychologist Andrea Molberg.

The workshop is for those who want to learn helpful ways to discuss difficult issues. The non-profit organization Better Angels holds free workshops across the country to bring people together and civility back to politics. Better Angels held Skills Workshops in Phoenix in June and October and at Tucson libraries in Nov. 2019. To learn more about the organization and its workshops see http://www.better-angels.org.

The mission? To have Americans see each other as friends, not enemies, no matter where they sit on the political spectrum.