June 2020 Communication Tip

Courageous Conversations

This is a difficult time. 

And, it is a time for each of us to look into our own hearts and minds, a time for many of us to educate ourselves.

Each month, I try to offer a Communication Tip to help us all do our best to communicate effectively (with patients, family caregivers, and each other).

This month, I wanted simply to share a few principles for dialogue within the cancer center, to help us all talk with each other during this intense time… whether we are talking “in-group” or having multi-racial discussions.

The 4 Agreements below are from the Courageous Conversation work led by Glenn Singleton and his Pacific Education Group, founded in 1992 and committed to achieving racial equity in the U.S. and beyond.  

Here are the original 4 Agreements to having difficult conversations about race.

1.    Stay Engaged

2.    Experience Discomfort

3.    Speak Your Truth

4.    Expect & Accept Non-Closure

And a few others that make good sense to me

• Keep an Open Mind
• Listen with the intent to learn
• Suspend Judgement
• Assume Good Intentions
• Always Be Respectful

There is a place for silence (listening) and a place for speaking out.  May we all continue our practice of finding the right balance to improve the world.

Best

mike

1. Stay Engaged

Remaining morally, emotionally, intellectually, and relationally involved in the diagogue.

2. Speak Your Truth

Be honest about your thoughts, feeling, and opinions

3. Experience Discomfort

Engaging in tough conversations even though (because) they make you feel uncomfortable.Our reality is uncomfortable.This is how we build muscle to tolerate discomfort.

4. Expect/Accept Non-closure

Committing to an ongoing dialogue

Rule out any possibility of discovering a “quick fix”