A short video (YouTube) by Sandi L Boucher about how using absolutes in speech damages relationship and cross-cultural bridge-building. Sandi (Red Thunderbolt, Seine River First Nation) recommends prefacing opinions with the phrase "to me" to leave space for other viewpoints and keep dialogue open. The content is conversational and advice-focused.
Chapters
I spent a lot of time this week talking about bridge building, about building relationships. But there is something that really will destroy your efforts. We should talk about it. Hi everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan and a proud member of Seine River first nation in Treaty 3 territory in Northern Ontario. And. And in the intro, I promise to share with you something that is really going to derail your relationship building efforts. Remember way back when when I talked to you about my friend that came to visit and how at one point, because of his absolute facts, that it felt like there was no air in the room? That's what I'm talking about. Absolutes. When you speak in absolutes, it leaves zero room for another opinion. And considering we're from different cultures, there's a really good chance I have a different view, maybe even a different opinion. But when I hear, you know, capital punishment is the only way to go, there's nothing to say to that. I have no interest in getting an argument with you. Obviously you don't care two beans what I think. If you're going to say it that way, the air just left the room. And you can change it so easily. You can continue your bridge and relationship building efforts so easily by adding four letters, two tiny little words to the beginning of your sentence. All you gotta add is, is to me. To me, capital punishment makes total sense to me. Pineapples do not belong on a pizza to me, I don't trust indigenous people. To me, it leaves air and space for other opinions. There's two sides to a bridge, two sides to a relationship. So always make sure to leave the space in the air. I hope that made sense. What did you think of this week's videos? Comment below. I would love to hear. If you have a specific question, send me an email always open to helping you understand. Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you next week for another round of videos. I love you. Take care of. Bye bye.
