[Neurons] 2020 Neurons #57 POLITICAL CONVERSATIONS

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall   

2020 Neurons #57

October 19, 2020

Reflections on Politics #12

 

 

POLITICAL CONVERSATIONS

 

How do you talk about politics?  Let me rephrase that.  The real question
is, How do you talk about politics in a respectful, compassionate, and
intelligent way?  How can you invite others to talk about political issues
and subjects without falling back on stereotypes, biases, cognitive
distortions, and all of the manipulative ways that most political
conversations involve?

 

To answer that in the negative- we must not do what we see on TV or cable!
By every means possible, we need to avoid emulating the political pundits
and commentators, or the so-called political journalists.  Hardly any of
them know how to carry on an informative, respectful, and equitable
conversation.  Every once in a while I see and hear a few do it- but only
for a few moments.  But all of them on TV, cable, or an internet blogs have
other agendas -create interest, create controversy, ask "gotta questions,"
spin things to the bias of their audience, to make a name for oneself, to
win over agreement, etc.  What it does not seem that they want to do is to
have a true dialogue. 

 

It would also be good if we do not model the candidates in either the
Presidential or thee Vice-President debates.  Not only was there far, far
too much interrupting, talking over each other, and name calling, but there
was far, far too little open and transparent about their answers.  I could
not tell that there was any actual search to understand each other, only
repeating "talking points," trying to "get" the other, and trying to "win"
over the other.

 

I addressed this in 2014 in the book Political Coaching, and although I
wrote it to focus on the political coach or the facilitator who coaches to
that subject.  Yet what I wrote there can equally serve as guidelines for
how to have decent political conversations with anyone.  There's a chapter
that summarizes the best understandings of what healthy and respectful
politics is (chapter 11 Principles for Political Coaching).  Then there's a
chapter on Political Quicksand (chapter 12).  

"Conversations can be like that- like quicksand. You begin on a line of
thought and as the dialogue continues, one thought or idea evokes another,
which triggers another, and before you know it, the conversation ping-pongs
all over the place and you travel to places unexpected.  Sometimes you
travel to dark swamps where you lose your way and can't see where you've
been or which way to go.  'How did we get here?'  You become confused even
about how to get back on track.  That's conversational quicksand." (p. 147)

 

There's also a chapter on talking about political power (chapter 15)- what
it is and have to have an intelligent conversation about power.  There are
guidelines about beliefs and how we are all believers which is what makes
the conversations difficult in the first place (pp. 169-170).  There is the
guideline of ecology (pp. 170-172).

 

The bottom line: There are ways to have difficult conversations about
difficult subjects.  There are guidelines and skills that can enable us to
develop the required competencies.  There are skills so that people with
opposing views can set down and talk.  That requires that each be willing to
actually listen and learn from the other.  That means suspending judgments
and exploring for facts and considering the various ways any set of fact can
be interpreted.  That means making assumptions and premises explicit which
requires honest and direct responses.  It means an attitude of
collaboration, transparency and even authenticity.

 

In a healthy political conversation, you will hear both parties say from
time to time, "That's a good point" (Neurons 2020 #13 ).  You will hear each
ask for the source of the facts that are being presented.  "How biased or
unbiased were those who created those facts?"  Source does matter.  Even
scientists struggle with that constantly.  "Does the sponsoring organization
have an agenda?  Is there an outcome that they are expecting to be
delivered?"

 

NLP as a communication model offers a whole set of skills for competently
holding a true dialogue between opposing parties for those who care more
about searching for the truth than defending a dogma.  With the Meta-Model
of Language, it offers a way for people to engage in critical thinking as
they exchange ideas.  In this way you can detect when there is manipulation
occurring and call it out.

 

We have to do better-a lot better-in regard to our political conversations.
And learning the basis of communication- the linguistics and the neurology
that supports cooperative conversation is a great place.

 

 

 

[This series on Political Thinking represents my thinking, and mine alone.
It does not necessarily represent Neuro-Semantics which is a psychological
model.   You can reach me at  <mailto:meta at acsol.net> meta at acsol.net   L.
Michael Hall, Ph.D.  For the book Political Coaching, see the link -
<http://www.neurosemantics.com/political-coaching/>
www.neurosemantics.com/political-coaching/ ]

 

                            Political Coaching is now in PDF format on The
Shop

 
https://www.neurosemantics.com/shop/page/3/  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Neuro-Semantics

P.O. Box 8

Clifton CO. 81520 USA

www.neurosemantics.com  

 

To unsubscribe to Neurons, send request to meta at acsol.net  

Humor is a meta-perspective about incongruity, exaggeration, playfulness,
and even absurdity.

For a touch of humor --- see the new book --- HUMOROUS THINKING  (2020)

 

 



 

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