Rachel Carlson

But Allison and Rudy both told me we can find more common ground with someone

when we try to understand their perspective instead of trying to convince them that they're wrong.

And it kind of seems like they have the right idea, at least from a scientific perspective.

Research shows that people who engage in dialogues or conversations to learn, rather than to win, come away from those conversations with a more open perspective.

Yeah, that's a great question, Emily.

And it's our third step, empathy.

So that includes asking the person you're talking to questions about themselves, trying to humanize them to learn more than just their opinion on whatever topic it is that's bringing up these feelings.

Totally.

No, I think so, too.

I mean, it's a whole other rabbit hole.

But it is kind of like how Jeannie and Richard met in their singing group.

Like, they got to know each other's hobbies.

They learned about their families, their careers.

And knowing these details about a person can help us be more open to them.

That's Juliana Tafour, the director of the Bridging Differences program at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center.

That's where Rudy and Allison teach their class.

And these tactics can help us be more charitable towards others, like by looking at the strongest parts of their arguments instead of the weakest, and more humble, just understanding where we might need more information or circumstances where our own beliefs might be limited.

Yeah.

Like I know I don't know everything.

And even the things that I think I know well, like there's always more to learn.