Constructive Communicators

7. Massively Parallel Roles & Tasks

Constructive communicators help us develop more accurate images of the world in which we live and, especially, the actions and motivations of others. Given how big our societies are, we no longer can understand much about what is going on without relying on one of the various forms of mass communication to tell us what's happening in our communities, or states, nations, or the world. So those "communicators," in both traditional and social media, have enormous power to shape our images of what is true and what is false, what is good and what is evil, what we should think, say, and do, and what we shouldn't.

To the extent that those communicators give us false information, we are all the worse off. And the pressures on communicators — on all sides — to do just that, to tell people what "their side" wants to hear, regardless of whether it is true or not, is tremendous.

There are three broad strategies for combating this problem. One strategy concentrates on teaching people about the distorting effects of mass communication and offering them suggestions for using the media in ways that overcome these difficulties and yield more accurate and reliable information. A second approach focuses on creating opportunities for people to interact directly across political divides in constructive ways that break down inaccurate and hostile stereotypes. Finally, there are efforts to reform the various systems of mass communication in ways that help limit the above problems. These three strategies are, to varying degrees, being pursued by the eight sub-groups of communicators listed below.

In addition to the media, individual people can also be constructive communicators. We can listen well (using standard conflict resolution skills such as "active" or "empathic" listening, and "I messages to avoid placing blame on others and making them defensive. We can communicate to solve problems instead of "win points," and to improve relationships instead of breaking them down.