In today’s newsletter you’ll find a smorgasbord of heartwarming and useful messages on how to talk about controversial topics, how to speak up when you’re afraid to do so, and how not to receive a Valentine’s gift. Enjoy.
KERRYING ON
A VALENTINE'S LESSON FOR ALL OF US
by Kerry Patterson
“Take a look at this!” my mother shouted. “You won’t believe it.”
Not knowing what Mom was talking about, I put down the psychology text my neighbor Gary and I were studying (we had a midterm the next day) and the two of us got up from the kitchen table and headed straight to the family room.
There we found Mom standing with a brown paper bag clutched in her right hand. Next to her stood Dad, looking two parts hangdog and three parts nervous. Something unpleasant was afoot.
UNAFRAID: HOW TO SPEAK UP ABOUT THINGS THAT MATTER
Afraid to speak up? In a recent poll, nine of ten people said they have felt emotionally or physically unsafe to speak their minds in recent months. And 60% said they have avoided difficult conversations more in the past 18 months than in previous years.
Download our ebook to learn more about recent social and political effects on discourse and how you can communicate when it’s difficult or scary to do so.
Let’s face it: You’ll never succeed in talking about controversial topics if there’s any indication that it’s dangerous to level with you. Joseph Grenny shares more in this video.
If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.
—Virginia Woolf
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