MPR News with Angela Davis

Talking Sense: How to connect with people you disagree with

Attendees engage in conversation during an event
Attendees engage in conversation during an in-person Talking Sense event hosted by the University of Minnesota Rochester at the Chateau Theatre in Rochester on April 24. The event aimed to facilitate discussions among individuals with diverse political views.
Ken Klotzbach for MPR News

MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about how to navigate difficult conversations. In this divisive election year, we can all learn and practice communication skills that help us have challenging discussions without letting the need to change minds stand in the way of preserving important relationships. 

Three women smiling in a broadcast studio
MPR News host Angela Davis (left) talks with Anna Sterk (center), a licensed marriage and family therapist in St. Paul who teaches at the Relational Life Institute and is a certified “Essential Relationship Skills Bootcamp” facilitator and trainer, and Carol Bruess (right), a scholar-in-residence focusing on relationships & dialogue at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University, in an MPR News studio in St. Paul on Thursday.
Nikhil Kumaran | MPR News

Guests:

  • Carol J. Bruess is a scholar-in-residence focusing on relationships and dialogue at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University, where she leads the recently launched initiative, “Disagreeing Better”. She is also professor emeritus of communication and family studies at the University of St. Thomas. And she’s the author of several books including, “What Happy Couples Do”.

  • Anna Sterk is a licensed marriage and family therapist in St. Paul who teaches at the Relational Life Institute and is a certified “Essential Relationship Skills Bootcamp” facilitator and trainer. 

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.