How to avoid arguing at the Christmas table. What word to avoid in discussions of COVID and politics?



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The health crisis and politics are the main topics of debate later this year. We are waiting for the COVID vaccine to arrive in Romania, the start of vaccination, but also the installation of a new government. Conflicting discussions about the need for vaccination, compliance, or different policy options can strain discussions even around the family Christmas meal. Laura Dragomir, communication specialist, explained how to avoid these situations.

“To have a healthy conversation, not just in this context, but even more so in the context of the holidays, let’s recall Henry Higgins’s advice from My lovely lady, which says: limit yourself to time and health. It’s just that now, with climate change, with politics, with the pandemic, with vaccination, even these topics no longer seem safe and almost any conversation can degenerate into an argument, and people no longer talk to each other, because they have different beliefs. Said Laura Dragomir, communication specialist.

“Studies show that we are much more polarized and divided than we have ever been in history. Compromise is unlikely, although I recommend it and recommend that we listen to each other. A conversation requires a balance between speaking and listening, and conversational competence. It is, it seems, nowadays, one of the most neglected activities, ”he added.

Short guide to a successful Christmas conversation

Laura Dragomir added that the pandemic situation in which we find ourselves has a great emotional charge: “There are people who may have lost a loved one, they may have lost their job, loneliness or the lack of social interactions have left their mark on you, so Christmas and the holidays of 2020 are unlike any other in recent memory, so why not create pleasant memories too?

“First of all, listen to others, because true obedience means letting go of your ego and sometimes even personal opinions. feeling this acceptance, the other becomes much more open. Remember that everyone we meet knows something that we do not know. Let’s listen and understand, let’s not respond. A first step to a successful conversation is listening. We must also renounce the attitude of superiority. Experts are boring, they hate anything that is not in accordance with their beliefs. Let’s approach all conversations from the premise that we have something to learn from each other. Third, let’s not pretend what the other feels, let’s not compare our experiences with theirs; the experiences are unique. Honest questions get interesting answers – I encourage conversational or conversational questions and discard the default ones. This is how a real conversation is born ”, explains the communication specialist.

“It just came to our knowledge then but – is not synonymous with gift – but that word that erases, cancels what I said positively before. Let’s replace it with my opinion is that… and so the conversation continues on a constructive note ”, stressed Laura Dragomir.

“Pay attention to the words and the tone of voice,” he also called attention, noting that we should be grateful to our loved ones, and this should be expressed.

Asked what we should take into account after this year, Laura Dragomir replied that “we must sincerely care about others, seek common ground and bring vulnerability to the surface – that we do not know everything, that we do not have the absolute truth – we become much more interesting than the others ”.

“Let’s not forget why we meet on vacation, let’s not forget that the pandemic forced us to stay away from people, and now we have them all around us,” he added.

Publisher: GC

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