Strength-Based Approach to Political Discussion

You can penetrate your soul in one word. One question can change the conversation. One healthy behavior can improve relationships.

In an age of intense division, defense and misunderstanding, I am interested in how people with opposition can communicate in ways that build relationships rather than destroy them.

There is no perfect answer or panacea. Each relationship and situation is different. However, the unopened area with high potential is the field of Character strength. Your best qualities and my best qualities – sitting among us waiting to be used – can be unleashed without much effort. In many ways, we consider our character strength to be one of the smallest possible things that can make the biggest difference.

As a practical resource, I use each of the 24 universally human character strengths as a way of thinking to create one question. Each question is a tool in itself – set to promote understanding, Mindfulnessand healthy communication. These questions can be useful if two people who dissent enter the conversation with the intention of being “in a relationship” with love. Each question was placed into a larger category of “previous”, “intermediate”, and “post” conversations.

Previous: Set up a conversation together

Careful

• Do you think we should ask ourselves before engaged in political debate?

Kindness

• Despite our differences, how do you think we can show kindness and understanding to each other?

Fairness

• In your opinion, what does a fair dialogue look like when discussing our different beliefs?

Social Intelligence

• How can understanding each other’s feelings improve our conversation about political differences?

enthusiasm

• What inspires your passion for your beliefs? How can you guide that energy into a productive conversation?

In: Focus on the individual (exploring the person’s opinions in a deeper way)

Honesty

• What about your beliefs you often feel misunderstood, and how can you better understand your perspective?

Love for learning

• What have you learned from your experiences that shape your political views?

Patience

• How do you keep up with your commitment to your beliefs, especially in the face of differences?

courage

• Even if it was difficult, what brave steps did you take to share your political views?

Self-regulation

• How do you manage your emotions when engaged in discussions on topics that are very important to you?

Psychic

• How does your spiritual beliefs guide your views on political issues?

In: Focusing on interpersonals (creating civic and mindful communication)

Judgment/Critical Thinking

• What criteria do you use to assess different political perspectives? Also, how can I apply it to the discussion?

perspective

• Do you think our current political situation offers us to learn from each other?

Appreciation for beauty and excellence

• What do you appreciate about the values ​​and strengths behind conflicting perspectives?

leadership

• What do you think are the key qualities of a good leader in fostering respectful political debate?

In: Focus on communities (participate in greater community impact)

Teamwork

• Despite these different views, how can we work together to find a common solution to the challenges of our community?

love

• How does your love for our community affect your views on political issues?

Creativity

• What creative solutions do you think we can explore to address the challenges we see in our society?

Humility

• What lessons have you learned from others and society who challenged your political beliefs?

Hope

• What gives hope to our future communities in terms of finding a common basis for the issue of dividing us?

After: Create a gentle ending

humor

• Shall we share some light moments about political differences to ease tensions? Maybe we each make a joke about our own “sides”?

Curiosity

• Which aspect of my perspective is most interesting and would you like to explain more? (I will then share what I am most interested in in your opinion).

forgiveness

• How can each of us play a role in driving past misconceptions in our political debates?

Thanks

• Which part of our conversation today do you most appreciate? (I also share what I appreciate most about it).

Practical next steps

1. Try two or three of these questions in the next conversation.
2. Share these questions with others so that both can work from the same approach.
3. Remember, most importantly (in many of these situations) you are maintaining a good relationship with people.