Better Communication
This website and its accompanying book is intended to initiate discussions in families, schools, therapeutic settings and everywhere communication is important. A variety of deceptively simple subjects are presented as Starters. Having frequent short non-judgmental conversations about some of these topics will make it easier to begin to discuss personal and possibly serious issues.
Too often opportunities to connect are lost because interest is expressed in questions that get answered in monosyllables. We can do better than,
"How was your day?" "Fine" "Great"
Choose a conversation starter and ask someone, "What do you think of this?" Then listen as if they were talking about an image on a Rorschach test, just sharing their opinion. There are no right or wrong answers. The goal is simply to develop the habit of having respectful conversations and to get to know one another better. This will inevitably deepen relationships and make it easier to support one another during challenging times.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
TALKING POINTS
Communication is the heart of a relationship.
The purpose of Talking Points is to foster conversations between generations by presenting topics and writings of real people. Discuss what's going on in the news, think about some of the Conversation Starters, and explore topics brought up in writings on A Page from a Diary. Share your respective opinions with someone in your life. Practice talking with one another in ways that yield more than a "Yes" or "No" response. Choose any topic that interests you to begin a discussion on that subject. Start by asking, "What do you think about this?" and see where the conversations takes you.