Let’s make a congratulatory toast to the first cohort of participants in the Living Room Conversations Host Certification Program! This wonderful and talented group spent their summer learning the ins-and-outs of hosting and organizing Living Room Conversations through trainings and mentorship from experienced hosts!
The Host Certification program gives people an opportunity to gain advanced facilitation skills and to host Living Room Conversations events. Our next cohort will be offered in early 2022!
Don’t forget, Living Room Conversations are easy to host on your own! Each guide has everything you need to do them yourself. We also offer a free one-hour “How to Organize and Host Living Room Conversations” as well as a “How to Host a Conversation About Race” training.
Talking to Strangers
Check out our new Talking to Strangers Conversation Guide!
A growing number of studies from Toronto to Turkey have found that when people do make an effort to talk to strangers, it usually goes far better than they anticipated. Study participants report that they are much better at it than they predict, and the strangers they speak to are generally receptive, interesting, and interested.
That said, there are many norms that discourage people from talking to strangers. We worry that we’re not allowed to do it, that we’ll be rejected, that we won’t know what to say, or that the people will dislike us. The prospect of talking to someone from another group–be it racial, gender-based, ideological–can further heighten those anxieties, especially if we don’t have regular contact with members of that group
This conversation is inspired in part by themes found in Joe Keohane’s book The Power of Strangers: The Benefits of Talking to Strangers in a Suspicious World.