For Connection
Dialogue starts with connection. As a learner in one of Canada’s most diverse institutions of higher-education, you have unique opportunities not only to build community with like-minded peers, but also to broaden your horizons, learn from diverse perspectives and gain new insights that will inform your learning and professional development.
For Dialogue
Effective dialogic communication is not only a critical skill for personal development, it is also one of the most sought after in today’s professional landscape. When we prioritize skill development in this area we gain other key competencies, including adaptability, perspective-taking, emotional intelligence and critical thinking. As social systems become ever more complex, these are the essential skills needed to meaningfully engage.
For Support and Well Being
Engaging in difficult conversations can involve significant emotional labour, particularly when they involve personal triggers or trauma. For support in this work, learners can access a range of responsive mental health services and resources for both immediate and ongoing support.
For Accountability
All members of the university community have rights and responsibilities to uphold principles of human rights, equity and inclusion. If you have questions or concerns related to these rights, there are various pathways and support options available.
Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion
Resources for Engaging Across Difference
The Psychology Group: How to have difficult Conversations- and why we Avoid them:
American Psychological Association: How to have Conversations when you Disagree Politically
American Association of University Women: Getting Started with Difficult Conversations
Betterup: How to Recognize and Address Triggers
The New Yorker: What Conversation Can Do for Us
Stains Jr., R. R. & Sarrouf, J., (2022) “Hard to say, hard to hear, heart to heart: Inviting and harnessing strong emotions in dialogue for deliberation”, Journal of Deliberative Democracy 18(2).
Fast Company: 7 Ways to Harness your Emotions to have More Powerful Conversations
Caroline King: Unsafe vs Uncomfortable: Understanding the Difference