How can we relate authentically in a world that's tearing itself apart? What skills do we need to truly understand perspectives that differ from our own, and in turn, how can we invite people to consider other ways of thinking? 

It's all easier said than done. The culture wars and our growing levels of political polarisation don't just divide nations: they split friends and family. As the debates over vaccination, politics, gender, race, and identity politics increase, many of us are struggling to navigate these conversations.

Arguing over these polarising issues with a win/lose mentality risks damaging our relationships and deepening the rifts that divide us. So how do we have a different kind of conversation; one that isn't about winning, but about authentic connection that takes us somewhere new? 

In this 6-week course, we’ll give you tools to help you resolve some of the biggest communication questions of our time. For example,

“How do I even start talking about my perspectives and ideas?”

“Why does every conversation I have about current affairs turn into a fight?”

“How can I relate with people who don’t make sense to me, and don't want to hear me out?”

Cultural polarisation - the extent to which people follow their own identity groups and vilify others - has increased drastically over the last few years. More than ever, we need tools for talking with people we don’t understand, or who don’t understand us, in a way that can lead to more connection instead of more argument.

The course is led by world-renowned trainer, facilitator, and community creator Sara Ness. Over the last 10 years, she has used the powerful experiential tools of Authentic Relating and Circling to create engagement between individuals and groups of all kinds, through gender issues, equity conversations, polarisation conflicts, and more. These practices create an embodied sense of empathy and shared understanding, aimed at reaching true dialogos, that can transform any interaction from contentious to connective.

Along with Authentic Relating and Circling practices, we’ll get to employ techniques from mediation, Internal Family Systems, polyvagal theory, Nonviolent Communication, and more. We’ll also explore lessons from some of history’s most skilled conversationalists and negotiators.