Beyond the Divide: Courageous Conversations Skills for a Polarized World

Do you ever avoid tough conversations because they feel too risky?
Or find it hard to stay connected when opinions clash?

This workshop offers you a bold but safer space to practice staying in dialogue—especially when things get heated.

We live in a time of increasing polarization and rising conflicts —at work, online, even in our families. Many see conflicts as a threat, as something to avoid, and shy away.
But what if conflict wasn’t the problem—but how we respond to it?

This workshop is based on the notion that conflict isn’t a crisis. It’s a doorway.
And we can walk through it together in order to grow, have deeper, more honest relations, and to foster social and democratic cohesion.

What to expect?

• Guided group exercises where you’ll experiment with disagreement—from a place of curiosity, not combat.
• Thought-provoking (yes, maybe provocative!) scenarios that help you explore your conflict patterns, your biases, your limits and red-lines.
• Clarity in conflict—understanding your triggers and responses

• New strategies for de-escalation and re-connection
• The ability to recognize common ground, even when you don’t agree
• A more courageous, grounded way to show up—in professional and personal spaces

This workshop may challenge you—but it’s designed to support you, not shock you.
You’ll never be forced to say or do anything you’re not comfortable with.

Who is it for?
This is a core skill for every human, but especially valuable for those who strive to make an impact in the world. If your professional path involves people, this is for you.

Your host:
Jakob Sonnenholzner is a peace and conflict researcher as well as a mediator. In this role, he supports people through both personal and professional conflicts.

His worldview is shaped by experiences in humanitarian emergency aid for refugees in Greece and Turkey, European party politics, civil society engagement, and the strategic development of NGOs.

Photo by Pierre Bernard on Unsplash

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