The Venom of Politics: Five Antitoxins To Keeping The Peace With Co-Workers, Family, and Friends

As we step into the height of the election season, you may find yourself in conflict with those of differing views. Sadly, nasty encounters can ensue often escalating into full-blown fights and nastiness. These can result in toxic family environments and even the fracturing of relationships between lifelong friends.

Below Rob Salafia, author of the book “Leading From Your Best Self” offers five keys on how we can approach these conversations in a convincing manner without them turning into dumpster fires.

Begin With A Question: “A great opening approach to a purposeful conversation is to ask a profound question and then listen with rapt attention. Meeting people where they are with compassion and understanding creates a natural gateway for you to take them to where they didn’t even know they wanted to go.”

Listen With Still Presence: “Ultimately, the real story you are trying to convince them of will be told without you saying a word.”

Allow The Conversation To Naturally Unfold: “Forcing your opinion on others is counter-productive and ultimately a lesson in futility. You cannot convince someone by being forceful, loud, and overbearing. This energy of forceful convincing creates defensiveness. Rather, you have to find a way to invite them in.”

Find The Rhythm and Flow: “In the Japanese martial art of Aikido, the goal is to sync with the energy and flow of the other person. The lesson here is that instead of a “Tug-Of-War” sometimes you have to be the one to let go of the end of the rope. Once you’ve yielded, you can then invite them to follow you to where you want to go.”

Take A Deep Breath: “Take a moment and envision an orchestra conductor with a room full of musicians to direct. Ever noticed how there’s a brief moment when the orchestra unleashes a brief set of discordant musical sounds prior to beginning the first musical score. At that point, there is a silent pause where the conductor looks at the orchestra pit. Then with one collective breath, the music begins. My message here is taking a deep breath often is a great way to get the conversation to sync so that it doesn’t cartwheel out of control”