Active Listening for Interpersonal Effectiveness and Political Depolarization

Humanist Perspectives is a joint program of the Jefferson Humanists and the Secular Hub on the 3rd Saturday at 4:00 pm. Feel free to BYOB (beer and wine are OK) or an appetizer to share.

Presented by Jon Frederick, PhD, LPC

Dale Carnegie wrote in How To Win Friends and Influence People that the secret to interpersonal success is not being particularly intelligent or interesting, but how much you can make others feel like they are intelligent or interesting. The problem is not that we need to insincerely stroke people’s egos to manipulate them, but that too often we sabotage ourselves and others by forgetting that other people’s egos are present in the room. A lack of empathy can be seen as the root of a great variety of human suffering at the individual and societal and political levels. It is refreshing and inspiring, then, to discover that empathy can be operationally defined. It is not just a hardwired inborn instinct, but a set of specific actions that demonstrate to another person that they have been heard and understood. While empathy alone might not be sufficient, this discussion will challenge you to apply specific empathy skills that are necessary for interpersonal success and for de-escalating political tensions locally and globally.

Related educational handouts can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ayAKMwh1skHoXC9Fii0YFXe5zO4v2-1A/view?usp=share_link

Humanist Perspectives is a combined monthly program with JH and the Secular Hub on the third Saturday at 4:00 pm. Come to the Hub to see the show live on the big screen, with discussions and appetizers. Feel free to BYOB (beer and wine are OK) or an appetizer to share.
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The Jefferson Humanists and Secular Hub Chapters of the American Humanist Association are very pleased to offer a regular exploration series on 3rd Saturdays, 4 to 6 pm. Each session will be slightly different and include several segments to showcase aspects of Humanism through presentations, videos, movies, and forums, followed by discussions. We will include time for participants to socialize and get acquainted, in keeping with our chapters' goal of building community.
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We need your help to tell us what topics you'd like to see explored at upcoming Humanist Perspectives programs. Which past presentations did you like that we can expand on? Maybe you've seen some good Humanist videos to show. We are also looking for people to get involved with HP and help put presentations together as well as co-host sessions. Email tomk@jeffersonhumanists.org with your thoughts.