Today in Freshmen Honors Experience we talked about Crucial Conversations. A crucial conversation is a discussion between people where stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong. We learned how to have a discussion without it turning into a destructive argument. I realized then why I had such a hard time having a civil discussion with one of my friends. Neither of us were really listening to each other, and both of us only cared about being right. I realized that I didn’t want this pattern to continue with this friend. I wanted to be able to discuss our different opinions without making each other feel bad. The next time I saw him and a controversial topic was brought up, he started by giving his opinion. This time I actually listened, and I repeated to him what he had said. He seemed really surprised, and his whole demeanor changed. When he realized that I understood him, he could relax and talk calmly. He even followed my example by repeating what I said when I stated my opinion. We continued the conversation to the end, and we realized that our opinions weren’t as different as we though, and the differences we could respect.
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