Community Agreements

In this unit of the course, we will be exploring an important topic that many people find challenging to discuss, in part because our individual experiences may be considerably different from one anothers’.

So, I’d like to start by having us set a few community agreements, or “norms,” to help make the space feel safe for conversation and exploration.

The community agreements that we agree to are all things we are willing to honor for the duration of this session.

• Speak from the “I” perspective: Avoid speaking for others by using “we,” “us,” or “them.”
• Listen actively: Listen to understand, not to respond. Sometimes we are tempted to begin formulating what we want to say in response, instead of giving 100 percent of our focus to the speaker. So, let’s make sure we are listening 100 percent.
• Speak in good faith and assume others are doing so as well.
• Step up, step back: If you usually speak up often or you find yourself talking more than others, challenge yourself to lean in to listening and opening up space for others. If you don’t usually talk as much in groups and do a lot of your thinking and processing in your own head, know that we would love to hear your contributions, and challenge yourself to bring your voice forward in the conversation.
• Respect silence: Don’t force yourself to fill silence. Silence can be an indication of thought and process.
• Share, even if you don’t have the right words: Suspend judgment and allow others to be unpolished in their speaking. If you are unsure of their meaning, then ask for clarification.
• Uphold confidentiality: Treat the candor of others as a gift. Assume that personal identities, experiences, and perspectives shared in this space are confidential unless you are given permission to use them.
• Lean in to discomfort: Learning happens on the edge of our comfort zones. Push yourself to be open to new ideas and experiences even if they initially seem uncomfortable to you.