How to lead a conversation between people who disagree | Eve Pearlman

161,136 views ・ 2019-04-22

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:00
Transcriber: Leslie Gauthier Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz
0
0
7000
00:01
So in the run-up to the 2016 election,
1
1208
2768
00:04
I was, like most of us, watching the rise in discord and vitriol
2
4000
4559
00:08
and nastiness in our public spaces.
3
8583
2518
00:11
It was this crazy uptick in polarization.
4
11125
3476
00:14
It was both disheartening and distressing.
5
14625
2542
00:18
And so I started thinking, with a fellow journalist, Jeremy Hay,
6
18375
3059
00:21
about how we might practice our craft differently.
7
21458
3310
00:24
How we might go to the heart of divides,
8
24792
2184
00:27
to places of conflict,
9
27000
1268
00:28
like journalists always have,
10
28292
1517
00:29
but then, once there, do something really different.
11
29833
2500
00:34
We knew we wanted to take the core tools of our craft --
12
34375
2893
00:37
careful vetting of information, diligent research, curiosity,
13
37292
3684
00:41
a commitment to serving the public good --
14
41000
2393
00:43
to serving our democracy --
15
43417
1434
00:44
and do something new.
16
44875
1458
00:46
And so we mapped out this process,
17
46917
1934
00:48
what we call dialogue journalism,
18
48875
1768
00:50
for going to the heart of social and political divides,
19
50667
3142
00:53
and then, once there, building journalism-supported conversations
20
53833
3393
00:57
between people on opposite sides of polarizing issues.
21
57250
3875
01:03
But how actually to do this in a world that's so divided,
22
63500
3809
01:07
so deeply divided --
23
67333
1435
01:08
when we live in a world
24
68792
1267
01:10
in which cousins and aunts and uncles can't talk to one another,
25
70083
3685
01:13
when we often live in separate and distinct news ecosystems,
26
73792
4101
01:17
and when we reflexively and habitually malign and dismiss
27
77917
3559
01:21
those with whom we disagree?
28
81500
1417
01:24
But we wanted to try.
29
84542
1517
01:26
And so right after the 2016 election,
30
86083
2643
01:28
in that time between the election and the inauguration,
31
88750
3684
01:32
we partnered with the Alabama Media Group to do something really different.
32
92458
4143
01:36
We brought 25 Trump supporters from Alabama together
33
96625
3226
01:39
in conversation with 25 Clinton supporters from California.
34
99875
3083
01:43
And we brought them together in a closed, moderated Facebook group
35
103667
4267
01:47
that we kept open for a month.
36
107958
1625
01:51
What we wanted to do
37
111625
1309
01:52
was to give them a place to engage with genuine curiosity and openness.
38
112958
3935
01:56
And we wanted to support them in building relationships,
39
116917
2642
01:59
not just with each other but with us as journalists.
40
119583
2459
02:02
And then we wanted to supply facts and information --
41
122917
2767
02:05
facts and information that they could actually receive and process
42
125708
3351
02:09
and use to undergird their conversations.
43
129083
2167
02:13
And so as a prelude to this conversation,
44
133292
2476
02:15
the first step in what we call dialogue journalism,
45
135792
2851
02:18
we asked what they thought the other side thought of them.
46
138667
4559
02:23
So when we asked the Trump supporters from Alabama
47
143250
3893
02:27
what they thought the Clinton supporters in California thought of them,
48
147167
3392
02:30
this is some of what they said.
49
150583
1893
02:32
"They think we are religious Bible thumpers."
50
152500
2143
02:34
"That we're backwards and hickish, and stupid."
51
154667
2191
02:38
"They think that we all have Confederate flags in our yards,
52
158250
2851
02:41
that we're racist and sexist and uneducated."
53
161125
2143
02:43
"They think we're barefoot and pregnant, with dirt driveways."
54
163292
3125
02:47
"And they think we're all prissy butts
55
167458
1851
02:49
and that we walk around in hoop skirts with cotton fields in the background."
56
169333
3810
02:53
And then we asked that same question of the Californians:
57
173167
2726
02:55
"What do you think the Alabamians think about you?"
58
175917
2851
02:58
And they said this: "That we're crazy, liberal Californians."
59
178792
3351
03:02
"That we're not patriotic."
60
182167
1476
03:03
"We're snobby and we're elitist."
61
183667
1572
03:05
"We're godless and we're permissive with our children."
62
185263
2583
03:08
"And that we're focused on our careers, not our family."
63
188542
2642
03:11
"That we're elitist, pie-in-the-sky intellectuals,
64
191208
2601
03:13
rich people, Whole Foods-eating,
65
193833
2560
03:16
very out of touch."
66
196417
1291
03:19
So by asking questions like this at the start of every conversation
67
199667
3601
03:23
and by identifying and sharing stereotypes,
68
203292
3226
03:26
we find that people -- people on all sides --
69
206542
2226
03:28
begin to see the simplistic and often mean-spirited caricatures they carry.
70
208792
5226
03:34
And in that --
71
214042
1267
03:35
after that, we can move into a process of genuine conversation.
72
215333
2959
03:40
So in the two years since that launch -- California/Alabama Project --
73
220875
3309
03:44
we've gone on to host dialogues and partnerships
74
224208
2268
03:46
with media organizations across the country.
75
226500
2518
03:49
And they've been about some of our most contentious issues:
76
229042
2809
03:51
guns, immigration, race, education.
77
231875
2417
03:55
And what we found,
78
235917
1601
03:57
remarkably,
79
237542
1267
03:58
is that real dialogue is in fact possible.
80
238833
2601
04:01
And that when given a chance and structure around doing so,
81
241458
3268
04:04
many, not all, but many of our fellow citizens
82
244750
2434
04:07
are eager to engage with the other.
83
247208
2125
04:12
Too often journalists have sharpened divides
84
252625
2476
04:15
in the name of drama or readership or in service to our own views.
85
255125
3583
04:19
And too often we've gone to each side quoting a partisan voice on one side
86
259666
3518
04:23
and a partisan voice on the other
87
263208
1851
04:25
with a telling anecdotal lead and a pithy final quote,
88
265083
2935
04:28
all of which readers are keen to mine for bias.
89
268042
2333
04:31
But our dialogue-based process has a slower pace and a different center.
90
271667
4583
04:37
And our work is guided by the principle
91
277375
2726
04:40
that dialogue across difference is essential to a functioning democracy,
92
280125
3768
04:43
and that journalism and journalists have a multifaceted role to play
93
283917
4101
04:48
in supporting that.
94
288042
1291
04:51
So how do we work?
95
291125
1708
04:53
At every stage, we're as transparent as possible
96
293583
3101
04:56
about our methods and our motives.
97
296708
2101
04:58
At every stage, we take time to answer people's questions --
98
298833
2851
05:01
explain why we're doing what we're doing.
99
301708
2000
05:04
We tell people that it's not a trap:
100
304375
2351
05:06
no one's there to tell you you're stupid,
101
306750
1976
05:08
no one's there to tell you your experience doesn't matter.
102
308750
3393
05:12
And we always ask for a really different sort of behavior,
103
312167
3059
05:15
a repatterning away from the reflexive name-calling,
104
315250
3184
05:18
so entrenched in our discourse
105
318458
1476
05:19
that most of us, on all sides, don't even notice it anymore.
106
319958
4000
05:25
So people often come into our conversations a bit angrily.
107
325917
3059
05:29
They say things like, "How can you believe X?"
108
329000
2476
05:31
and "How can you read Y?"
109
331500
1893
05:33
and "Can you believe that this happened?"
110
333417
2708
05:37
But generally, in this miracle that delights us every time,
111
337083
3601
05:40
people begin to introduce themselves.
112
340708
1768
05:42
And they begin to explain who they are and where they come from,
113
342500
3059
05:45
and they begin to ask questions of one another.
114
345583
2518
05:48
And slowly, over time, people circle back again and again to difficult topics,
115
348125
4059
05:52
each time with a little more empathy, a little more nuance,
116
352208
3018
05:55
a little more curiosity.
117
355250
1292
05:57
And our journalists and moderators work really hard to support this
118
357958
3185
06:01
because it's not a debate, it's not a battle,
119
361167
2726
06:03
it's not a Sunday morning talk show.
120
363917
2142
06:06
It's not the flinging of talking points.
121
366083
2810
06:08
It's not the stacking of memes and gifs
122
368917
1892
06:10
or articles with headlines that prove a point.
123
370833
2768
06:13
And it's not about scoring political victories with question traps.
124
373625
3417
06:19
So what we've learned is that our state of discord is bad for everyone.
125
379542
5184
06:24
It is a deeply unhappy state of being.
126
384750
2167
06:27
And people tell us this again and again.
127
387750
2268
06:30
They say they appreciate the chance to engage respectfully,
128
390042
3434
06:33
with curiosity and with openness,
129
393500
1601
06:35
and that they're glad and relieved for a chance to put down their arms.
130
395125
3917
06:40
And so we do our work in direct challenge
131
400208
2560
06:42
to the political climate in our country right now,
132
402792
2934
06:45
and we do it knowing that it is difficult, challenging work
133
405750
2809
06:48
to hold and support people in opposing backgrounds in conversation.
134
408583
3709
06:53
And we do it knowing democracy depends on our ability
135
413333
3518
06:56
to address our shared problems together.
136
416875
2125
06:59
And we do this work by putting community at the heart of our journalistic process,
137
419917
3892
07:03
by putting our egos to the side to listen first, to listen deeply,
138
423833
3601
07:07
to listen around and through our own biases,
139
427458
2935
07:10
our own habits of thought,
140
430417
1476
07:11
and to support others in doing the same.
141
431917
1916
07:15
And we do this work
142
435708
1310
07:17
knowing that journalism as an institution is struggling,
143
437042
2642
07:19
and that it has always had a role to play and will continue to have a role to play
144
439708
3893
07:23
in supporting the exchange of ideas and views.
145
443625
2167
07:28
For many of the participants in our groups,
146
448458
2060
07:30
there are lasting reverberations.
147
450542
2101
07:32
Many people have become Facebook friends and in-real-life friends too,
148
452667
3309
07:36
across political lines.
149
456000
1476
07:37
After we closed that first Trump/Clinton project,
150
457500
3559
07:41
about two-thirds of the women went on to form their own Facebook group
151
461083
3310
07:44
and they chose a moderator from each state
152
464417
2000
07:46
and they continue to talk about difficult and challenging issues.
153
466441
3743
07:50
People tell us again and again that they're grateful for the opportunity
154
470208
3435
07:53
to be a part of this work,
155
473667
1309
07:55
grateful to know that people on the other side aren't crazy,
156
475000
3268
07:58
grateful that they've had a chance to connect with people
157
478292
2684
08:01
they wouldn't have otherwise talked to.
158
481000
1875
08:04
A lot of what we've seen and learned,
159
484708
1810
08:06
despite the fact that we call ourselves Spaceship Media,
160
486542
2642
08:09
is not at all rocket science.
161
489208
1435
08:10
If you call people names, if you label them, if you insult them,
162
490667
3184
08:13
they are not inclined to listen to you.
163
493875
1875
08:16
Snark doesn't help, shame doesn't help,
164
496458
2185
08:18
condescension doesn't help.
165
498667
1916
08:21
Genuine communication takes practice and effort
166
501958
3226
08:25
and restraint and self-awareness.
167
505208
1750
08:28
There isn't an algorithm to solve where we are.
168
508250
3125
08:32
Because real human connection is in fact real human connection.
169
512417
3415
08:37
So lead with curiosity,
170
517082
2019
08:39
emphasize discussion not debate,
171
519125
1683
08:40
get out of your silo,
172
520832
2000
08:44
because real connection across difference ...
173
524125
3768
08:47
this is a salve that our democracy sorely needs.
174
527917
2875
08:52
Thank you.
175
532083
1268
08:53
(Applause)
176
533375
3083
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7