Conversations about race, social justice, culture, or other highly-charged topics can become heated fast. But acrimony and resentment can quickly derail the discussion and are counter-productive. For authentic, effective conversations on sensitive topics, here are our do’s and don’ts. DO: Put Aside Your Preconceptions. If you’re talking about a sensitive
Conversations about race and culture can rouse a range of uncomfortable emotions. However, these issues are too important to avoid—even when the discussions feel strained or awkward. Conversation is the key to understanding the reality and experiences of diverse groups of people, strengthening our empathy, and fighting implicit prejudice. As
In 2007, a team of researchers published what is now considered a seminal study about diversity. They found Americans generally favor “diversity” as a concept but tend to quickly revert to what the researchers called “happy talk” when pressed: vague, inoffensive dialogue that doesn’t mean anything. The study found that
Although many organizations and individuals have conversations about race and culture, not all of these dialogues are productive. To make your discussions more worthwhile, think in terms of what is resourceful—conversations that are helpful and will help move you to your goals—and unresourceful—conversations that shut down engagement. Let’s review a
