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How to talk politics with family and friends

Braver Angels hosts events, workshops, and one-on-one meetings with people who need extra help talking about politics with others.

NEW LONDON, Conn. — Many people have been there; You're sitting at the dinner table, someone brings up politics, and the conversation goes south. But how do you avoid this scenario? 

A local organization called Braver Angels Connecticut Alliance is helping to do just that.

"It's part of a national organization. We realized that the country is more and more polarized and we're volunteers. And we just said, 'We have to do something about it. We can't just complain,'" said Chris Clouet, co-chair of Braver Angels Connecticut Alliance.

RELATED: Close race for U.S. House seat in Connecticut's 5th district

So, three years ago, they created the non-profit organization. Braver Angels hosts events, workshops, and one-on-one meetings with people who need extra help talking about politics with others.

In those workshops, they go through how to depolarize politics. Clouet gave some tips and tricks that some might see at those events:

HOW TO APPROACH THE CONVERSATION:

  • Don’t assign people roles. Just because they’re affiliated with a certain party doesn’t mean they have to feel a certain way about something. Let them speak for themselves.

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WHEN YOU'RE IN THE CONVERSATION:

  • Listen. Don't just sit there waiting to respond with a rebuttal.
  • When you do respond, use keywords like "I hear what you’re saying" and repeat what they said back to them to show them you’re listening. 
  • Find common ground.

IF YOU CAN'T FIND COMMON GROUND:

  • Know when to move on. Say something like "I don't think we can agree on this, let's talk about something else"

RELATED: What questions do you have about the 2022 midterm elections?

But above all else, Clouet said do not avoid the conversation entirely. 

"That's a problem because then people go to their corners and stew over what they said and stop talking to each other. But then if you can turn the issue around to say, 'Look, we're all humans here on this little planet living together, trying to do our best. Let's find that common ground so we can work together and accept each other,'" Clouet said. 

The workshops offered by Braver Angels are free to the public. For more information, click here.

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Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

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