Miscellaneous
Robin Atkins is back to discuss psychology in debate. Robin is a licensed mental health counselor, specializing in reproductive issues. She also has a philosophy degree. She spent four years doing home-based therapy with the Department of Children's Services. She's a pro-life advocate with an atypical perspective on some of the issues surrounding abortion. Related Links: Listen to our first episode with Robin, on adoption vs. foster care vs. abortion Dialogue Tip: Tell Them That They Can’t Offend You We referenced our mutual friend Petra Wallenmeyer who is now a writing intern at ERI, as well as the Content Director for the Human Defense Initiative. Read her articles here. Our first Humor in Dialogue podcast A Comedian Shares Tips for Using Humor in Dialogue Should Pro-Lifers be Snarky? (with Dank Pro-Life Memes) Charisma on Command YouTube channel Brant Hanson's book, "Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better" Disclosure: The book above is an Amazon affiliate link. This means that, at zero cost to you, ERI will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:00 Defining communication 03:44 Navigating debates, in-person and online 05:53 Clarifying the labels "speaker" vs "listener" 08:25 How do you help someone who is constantly offended by the other side? 13:36 Ideology-driven vs. topic-driven debate 17:31 How do you get past people's defenses? 20:03 Should our primary goal be to change minds? 24:49 Timing and empathy matters 26:27 On anecdotal evidence and miscarriage 31:54 On benevolent trolling and the use of snark 43:31 When is it time to end an unproductive conversation? 47:25 If self-awareness is important, how can people who aren't self-aware discover and work on that? 49:11 Why is civil discourse so low right now, and what can do we about that? 59:27 What is it you'd like people to take from the "Unoffendable" book?