Conversations on Polarizing Topics Are Possible. If You’re Up for It, Here’s How to Start

Engaging in polarizing discussions can be daunting, yet it's not impossible. If you're ready to take the plunge, we're here to guide you. Learn how to initiate these conversations, navigate differing viewpoints, and foster understanding amidst disagreement.

Some topics are impossible to ignore

Discussing controversial topics with our family and peers helps us learn and grow

• We develop our ideas by interacting with others, testing our thinking, and getting feedback
• Losing out on these conversations just makes us more distanced and entrenched in our own ways of thinking
• How can we as a society have better, more productive conversations with each other, regardless of our social, cultural, or political backgrounds?

Use personal stories to increase the potential for changing opinions

People are resistant to persuasion when they feel pressured to admit their views are wrong and when changing their opinions goes against their self-identity

• Deep canvassing tries to change views without using persuasion; instead, people are guided through nonjudgmental conversations about personal narratives related to the topic at hand
• Actively listen and acknowledge the views and feelings of the other person

Active listening opens the door for productive conversations

Don’t be afraid to pause a conversation that’s heating up

• Take a break when necessary to get emotions under control
• Use your past experiences to understand where your conversation partner is coming from
• Treat each other with decency and respect

Before you even start a conversation with someone, take a step back and think about how their life may have shaped their opinions

Past experiences and beliefs can act as a perceptual filter and may change how people interact with scientific evidence

• Scientists have traditionally defaulted to a “deficit model” for communicating science
• The deficit model: Simply tell people the facts, thereby remedying their knowledge deficit and increasing their support for scientific ideas and practices

Religion and Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology focuses on interacting with materials at the atomic or molecular scale, which theoretically could allow us to build and manipulate any structure in existence.

• The potential of nanotechnology touches on ideas that that highly religious people in particular may object to, over fears of “playing God”
• A 2009 study specifically examined how support for nanotechnology varied with religiosity

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