Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide, Skills and Strategies for Conversations That Work (APA LifeTools Series)

I am struggling a bit to connect with and understand some people with whom I am generally quite close, but simply cannot understand their perspective on important national and global issues. I do not like self-help books in general. I found Beyond Your Bubble to be highly engaging, very pragmatic, and useful for all kinds of discussions within personal and professional relationships—not just highly fraught political debates. The author’s writing style is bright and accessible, and she uses storytelling and real-world situations to drive the tactics home. Most importantly, this works. I had a couple of actual “breakthroughs” applying the conversational methods she discusses, and could sense the other person reacting favorably. I highly recommend this book.

I was a bit hesitant at first when a friend recommended this book. I've read a few other books out there and they offer different approaches. What is so different about this one? This book transformed how I think about conversations with my friends, partner and colleagues. This book teaches you to how to really listen and connect with those who disagree with you from various topics including politics. Honestly if you're looking for ways to be a good listener, manage emotions, and cultivate understanding, I highly recommend this psychological perspective to everyone. It might just save your relationship with loved ones.

This book helped me to have actual conversations with my ex-husband, instead of arguments. The running example of family members using the tools provided in the book was so helpful. The flowchart of how to have meaningful conversations is stellar. I highly recommend reading this book and sharing it with someone you love but have difficulty having conversations with.

El libro fue perspicaz. Me dió las ganas de hablar con mi padre, quien he evitado hablar por mucho tiempo por nuestra desacuerdo sobre mi homosexualidad

Very timely read considering the many different personal values and views about social responsibility that exists across our nation. We are using this as the model for mending strained relationships in an over-55 community in South Carolina. It’s filled with excellent process tools and perspectives that have given us hope and purpose as we try making the world a better place.

It's easier to stay within our own political bubbles. The divisions outside our bubbles seem sharper than ever. But books like this one help promote healthy discussions that can make a difference.Tania Israel gives us both motivation and advice to carry on meaningful dialogues with those we disagree with.“My aim is to support people who want to connect with those who have different political views and values by offering concrete skills, as well as overarching principles and strategies that will promote constructive conversation.”Whether you enjoy talking politics or whether you hate it with a passion, Israel gives you ways to decrease the stress of how we talk to each other. And even gives us permission to NOT have the conversation if we don't want to:“Just because you can have dialogue doesn’t mean you must in every situation. It’s an opportunity, not a mandate.”But other times, she encourages us to stay with the dialogue. With respect.“Dialogue isn’t about winning. It’s about understanding.”Here is more advice from the book.“Ask questions from a place of curiosity rather than judgment. Don’t try to lure someone into saying something inconsistent or incorrect and then leaping on them with a ‘gotcha’ – it won’t help anything, and it’s disrespectful.”“It’s more important to simply be present than to be brilliant.““Vulnerability is not knowing how the other person will respond, but making space for it anyway. We need to embrace, or at least tolerate, this vulnerability if we want to understand another person more than we want to advocate for our own perspective.”“The first rule of timing: don’t interrupt just to ask a question.”“It’s a little bit magical how much people appreciate being heard and understood.”“People’s tendency to believe that people on their side are motivated by love, and people on the other side are motivated by hate appears to be at the root of some of the world’s most intractable conflicts.”“Focus on the relationship, and persuasion may follow.”My thanks to Net Galley for the review copy of this book.