Active Listening for Personal Success and Political Depolarization

Humanist Perspectives is a joint program of the Secular Hub and Jefferson Humanists 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 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, actions that can be described, studied, and learned. While empathy alone might not be sufficient, this discussion will challenge you to learn and 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

The Hub, Jefferson Humanists, and Humanists of Colorado Chapters of the American Humanist Association are very pleased to offer a regular exploration series on the 3rd Saturdays, 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Each session will be slightly different and include several segments to showcase aspects of Humanism through a presentation, videos, movies, forums, and explorations, followed by discussions. We will include time for participants to socialize and get acquainted, in keeping with the chapters' goals of building community.