WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER:  Here’s How to Avoid Talking Politics over Holiday Dinner
How To Avoid Talking Politics (or Religion, or Sensitive Subjects) Over Thanksgiving Dinner, In 5 Steps

A recent poll shows that 20-percent of respondents said political disagreements have hurt their relationships with friends or family.  That’s one out of five.

So how do you avoid talking politics over the turkey?

Experts have five tips:

1) Reframe & redirect – see if you can get all family members to agree to not discuss politics during dinner to avoid misunderstandings.  Instead, consider discussing what you’re grateful for, or other positive topics outside of politics.

2) Keep calm and carry on – if someone brings up politics to get a reaction, a sociologist says the best thing you can do is remain calm.

3) Don’t try to win – you’re unlikely to change someone’s political stance (just as you’re unlikely to change their favorite sports team)- so pump the breaks on the political conversation.

4) Avoid labels and characterizations —don’t label parts of the conversation or the response or the person (i.e., “I would expect a Boomer to say something like that.”).

Experts say remaining neutral is key, even when confronted with what might seem like outrageous beliefs and viewpoints.

5) Be curious, not furious —the only way to navigate these difficult conversations is through a detached spirit of curiosity, where learning is more important than fixing.

Learn more, here:  (Forbes)

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