Latest / Daily Influence / 592. Navigating Political Conversations: Empathy, Respect, and Influence (rerun)

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592. Navigating Political Conversations: Empathy, Respect, and Influence (rerun) · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the daily influence where our mission is to deliver a daily dose of positive influence that can uplift you personally or be shared within your sphere of influence.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: While not every episode may directly apply to your unique circumstances, we strive to provide insights and inspiration relevant to most people's daily, weekly, and monthly lives.
• 0:30
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• 0:35
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• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Hey everybody, Brian Smith here with the I&Team series and your daily influence.
• 0:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Today I'm going to talk about kind of a hot topic, something that I think many of us are facing in different situations and that is navigating political conversations and ensuring that during those conversations, we maintain respect and maybe even have to use empathy.
• 1:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: to get to that point of balance in these conversations.
• 1:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's difficult.
• 1:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Politics, especially in the last couple of cycles, have become more emotional than ever.
• 1:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: We are dealing with the ability to communicate in a much more focused fashion.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: We are being bombarded by opinions and we are being bombarded by messaging.
• 1:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: with facts.
• 1:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it makes the conversation tremendously more difficult.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: One of the things that's really important is that we hold ourselves accountable to whatever core values we have and challenge what we think or what we perceive.
• 1:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're hearing.
• 1:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: When we do that and we add some empathy to these conversations, it can help shape a tone for the discussions.
• 2:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: It could encourage us as listeners to approach that conversation with more of an open mind understanding that myself and the person I'm talking to could be speaking from a foundation that is not as solid as we think it is.
• 2:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: That goes for us too.
• 2:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: If we rely on talking points and opinions to create a foundation of fact in our minds, then we ourselves are contributing to the confusion that happens in these conversations.
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: So seeking to understand, rather than to convince, can really help us.
• 2:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: It can help us to understand what influence the person we're talking to or debating or just having this conversation with.
• 2:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: What influence is it that they're trying to have?
• 2:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: Are they trying to switch and influence us to change our mindset?
• 2:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: Are they just wanting to feel better about their own position?
• 3:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Do they want us to agree with them?
• 3:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe they want us to disagree with them.
• 3:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: And are they doing it out of or with some respect?
• 3:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Or are they doing it from more of an aggressive perspective?
• 3:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Then oftentimes, it's counter to what their goals are or what their beliefs are.
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: I like to implement smart into these conversations.
• 3:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: I really want to know the specific.
• 3:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: I want to know what I'm wrong.
• 3:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: I want to know the position or the candidate that I am behind.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: I want to know as flaws or her flaws.
• 3:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because I may accept them.
• 3:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: And when I weigh them against the flaws of their competition,
• 3:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: I want to understand the correlation between them.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: How does it actually influence me in my daily life in a year and two years and four years when we go through this cycle again?
• 3:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: And as I'm having these conversations, I would like people who will listen to use those same tactics.
• 4:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: I want to be able to use measurement and attainability and realism in timeliness.
• 4:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: In these conversations, because it helps me to organize the information that I'm getting, it helps me to be specific in what I'm trying to get out of the conversation.
• 4:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: is what I'm trying to get even attainable.
• 4:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Is it worth having this conversation or are we just going to waste time and know that in the end we are going to end up disagreeing anyhow?
• 4:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Then I wonder was the conversation worth it in the first place?
• 4:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oftentimes, when we choose to have these dialogues in social media, we may think that, well, people that are watching this happen might listen to us.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: So can we, in those opportunities approach these conversations in a more respectful and positive way?
• 4:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: Can we lay seeds within that conversation that will allow third parties observing the conversation?
• 5:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: to get it taken away.
• 5:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because you might not change the person's mind.
• 5:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: You might not alter their perception.
• 5:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: You might not change their opinion.
• 5:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: You might not even get them to go and do some research and understand facts.
• 5:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: But what you might do is provide for somebody watching to do those things.
• 5:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's why maintaining your values, maintaining your beliefs, being calm and positive through these interactions is so important because you could be influencing people who may never even jump into the dialogue.
• 5:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: And if you allow empathy to help you have those conversations and help you be more centered, if you are self-aware of your own emotions and have some emotional
• 5:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: through these conversations.
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: It'll help you manage your reactions and create a place for constructive and pointed viewpoints, even in difficult situations and difficult discussions.
• 6:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: And through that, using that empathy,
• 6:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Finding common ground can allow you to build bridges.
• 6:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: I recently had a discussion in social media with somebody, and I tried to build some bridges over to their side.
• 6:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: We disagree vehemently within our positions.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: But I tried to point out that there are many, many areas where the people and issues that I am getting behind have very clear parallels to theirs.
• 6:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: that there is common ground and that much of the difference is perception and opinion, not fact.
• 6:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's how we apply that understanding that it's creating these caverns, these huge distance between us.
• 6:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: So finding common ground and focusing on share values can really help to allow us to have better conversations.
• 6:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: And again, these conversations, especially if they're done in social media, may not alter yours or their beliefs.
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: It might not change hours or their perception, but what it might do is create an opportunity for people who are following along to take a deeper look, to listen more intently, to be more or ask, to be more specific, which can help eliminate more divisive conversations, maybe later.
• 7:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: These are opportunities for growth, their opportunities for learning, and even collaboration.
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: And ultimately, if we work together, even if we don't agree, we can influence our culture and still keep the freedoms, keep the freedom of speech, the freedom of choice.
• 7:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: The freedoms that weigh all
• 7:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: experience and relish here.
• 7:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: We can keep them alive and moving in the right direction even through the complex, often emotional and divisive issues that we're facing.
• 7:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: And what can happen when we do that is we can have positive change.
• 8:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: We can't meet in the middle and come up with ways that are common sense that reinforced our foundation, that maintain our values.
• 8:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: and that allow us to be Americans together, not apart.
• 8:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: So as we move through this difficult time and as we continue to have these difficult political conversations, remember, approach with empathy, maintain your composure.
• 8:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: fall back into your values, listen for opportunities to build bridges to have shared opinions where you can meet them together.
• 8:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: And when you get to the point where you're over-emotional walk away, take a break, agree to disagree, and move forward in a more positive way instead of a negative way.
• 8:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you all listen again tomorrow as we bring positive influence and hopefully responsible influence to you through our work.
• 8:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: Have a great day.