Often talking about sensitive topics is seen as a battle, a clash of ideas and personalities. The 21st century TV political debate has gone this way, showing us that substance matters little ; in the face of style, carefully laid out arguments merely ripple the water, while snappy one-liners storm the media.
This rubs off on us. In our day-to-day lives and on the web, on family and discussion groups, the same sterile "debating" happens all the time to the point we sometimes don't prefer to engage at all.
To solve this issue, we use the principle of guided discovery, prompting participants to take part in factual and rational workshops, while challenging assumptions and prompting them to draw their own conclusions. All with an engaging and interactive twist! We learn best by having fun :)
No matter the topic, we must be aware of the innate limitations in our thinking, overcome our logical flaws and biases. Some tips to move beyond them:
We all have our point of views. How can we be sure these reflect reality?
Having doubts and accepting we don't know opens up space to learn.
"All cops are xxx!", "All politicians are xxx!" Blanket statements are probably wrong, but assuredly unhelpful.
We love to jump to another topic when we reach the limit of our argumentation. Staying on topic enables us to reach deeper understanding.
Confusion can stem from having different understandings of words. Make sure we're all on the same page to begin with.
Truth is not black or white, bute a shade of grey. There can be good arguments on both sides of the aisle.
One stat or one argument is not the whole story. Strive for a complete view of a topic.
Learning to articulate others point of views helps to broaden your perspective on a topic.
Personal experiences are powerful in shaping our thoughts, but do not tell the whole story.
