Talking Politics with People Unlike Ourselves

MENLO PARK, August 21, 2004.  The Commonweal Institute, a moderate-to-progressive think tank, is offering a workshop, "Talking Politics with People Unlike Ourselves", at the First Unitarian Universalist Center in San Francisco, on Sunday, August 22. The workshop provides those who want to influence others with new tools for reaching the politically uncommitted, the wavering, and people unlike themselves in other ways, such as style, interests, party affiliation or level of interest in politics.

Dr. Katherine Forrest, who leads the workshops, said, "There is an unusually strong interest in politics right now, in this extraordinarily heated and divisive election year. Political issues may have been an occasional idle topic of conversation for most people in the past, but now they loom large in the public mind. Many who had never been particularly political in the past now find themselves wanting to motivate others to become politically active, to share their commitment to particular candidates or issues, and to vote. We designed the workshops to meet this need."

Similar workshops offered in Palo Alto and San Jose during the past several months have been very popular. Attendees include not only outreach political activists, but also many individuals who simply want to be more effective in talking to family members, neighbors, or work colleagues.

The Commonweal Institute workshop uses techniques based on social psychology to teach participants how to have greater influence and be more persuasive. Such techniques are well known and successfully used in sales, marketing, and healthcare, but according to Dr. Forrest they have not been applied as systematically in the political realm.

"It is as important to avoid alienating people who are not ready to change, as it is to persuade those who are," said Dr. Forrest. "Getting into political arguments is particularly futile, as arguments only strengthen a person's attachment to their existing beliefs. So one has to find ways to carry on a conversation that allows for respectful expression of opinions while avoiding that combat mode."

"On the other hand, when a person is beginning to waver in their beliefs and be open to considering alternatives, there is a real opportunity to help the process along. When you can identify the signs that a person is ready to make a change, there are ways to encourage them to follow through on that impulse."

"The response from attendees and those who have heard about the workshops indicates that many people are feeling a real need for this type of information now," said Dr. Forrest. "We have had requests for workshops from other states and even South America."  The Commonweal Institute is currently preparing a self-instructional manual to help meet that demand.

Dr. Forrest, the public health physician who developed this workshop, has extensive experience as a trainer, based on her work at Harvard School of Public Health, Yale University, University of Connecticut, and Planned Parenthood.  She is a co-founder of the Commonweal Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank and communication organization based in Menlo Park. More information about the Commonweal Institute and Dr. Forrest is available online at www.commonwealinstitute.org.

The workshop will be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Center, 1187 Franklin Street, on Sunday, August 22, from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m., in the Starr King Room. Reservations are required, as attendance is limited; call 650-854-9796. A suggested donation of $20.00 will be collected at the door for expenses, but no one will be turned away if they cannot afford this. 

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