Brown Bag Lunch Series: How to Take the ‘War’ Out of Words

The non-profit Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center in Hilo will host a free talk on July 20 as part of its “Finding Solutions, Growing Peace” brown bag lunch series.

The talks are held on the third Thursday of each month, from 12 to 1 p.m. via Zoom.

This month’s speaker is Paul Hebert on the topic: “From Defensive to Disarming: How to Take the ‘War’ out of Words.”

Hebert has been a handyman, a youth minister in the Catholic Church, a father of two, an engineer for Digital Equipment Corporation for more than 20 years, a motorcycle safety instructor, and a mediator and mediation trainer for the past 12 years. 

He is now retired and a singer-songwriter.  An ‘expressive introvert,’ according to the Meyers-Briggs Type Instrument, Hebert is interested in transformative conversations, whether they happen in mediation or not.

In this talk, attendees can gain an awareness of how questions and statements can be useful and what makes them harmful to both the speaker and the listener.

“Many conversations have participants trying to ‘win’ something rather than learn or exchange something,” Hebert said.  “With awareness, we can shift our conversation away from being a competition and toward a genuine collaboration.”

The brown bag lunch series is open to the public. 

Attendees are encouraged to enjoy an informal and educational talk-story session and connect with others interested in “Finding Solutions, Growing Peace.”

To get the Zoom link, register online at https://freebrownbagtalk.eventbrite.com.

For more information, contact Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center at 808-935-7844 or info@hawaiimediation.org.  Or visit www.hawaiimediation.org.