Race. Politics. Immigration. Gun control. These are some of the hot button issues in America today. They elicit strong emotions in people and often cause conflict in conversations.

However, tense discussions don’t have to be disrespectful or result in screaming matches. While it takes effort and practice, being civil in our conversations is possible.

Dr. Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk is associate professor of communication at Missouri State University. She’s also the director of Be Civil Be Heard, a nonprofit through Community Foundation of the Ozarks and administered out of MSU’s Center for Community Engagement. She discusses how we can strive for more civil conversations with others.

Read the full transcript

Read about Be Civil Be Heard’s 10 Tenets of Civility.