Being open — to other people, ways of thinking, opinions and more — is a skill worth pursuing. An open mind and heart can make your world bigger and much more satisfying. It can help you become a lifelong learner. And it can help you grow with purpose and passion.
Here are some ways to become more open…
- Put your views, judgments and filters aside so you can focus on the reality of the person in front of you
- Listen to understand someone, not to respond to them
- Participate in capitalization or having empathy and enthusiasm for positive events in others’ lives
- Operate from a place of empathy
- Look for commonalities and shared experiences when interacting with people who seem different from you, as this focus on your shared identity can help overcome fear and distrust while promoting empathy and cooperation
- Experience events and conversations that may initially be outside of your comfort zone for an opportunity to learn and grow
What else might you add?
Openness Role-Plays
To practice reacting in open ways, ask willing participants to role-play situations such as…
- Disagreeing with someone else’s viewpoint while trying to understand their perspective
- Someone questioning your intelligence due to an opinion you’ve expressed
- Reacting when someone shares happy news with you
- Meeting someone new who seems very different from you
Process through each role-play scenario…
- How did it feel?
- How did being open feel like a positive tool?
- What was difficult about being open in this situation?
Find other tools like this that you can use within our NEW Building Students’ Soft Skills: Empowering Agency and Interpersonal Abilities – A Facilitation and Teaching Guide.
