PENNSYLVANIA, USA — After a tiring and trying election season, many Americans are preparing to pull up a chair at the final political battleground: the Thanksgiving dinner table.
How would political experts approach it?
"Keep things civil, I guess that’s all I can say," said Berwood Yost, director of the Franklin & Marshall College Center for Opinion Research.
That’s easier said than done, according to Stephanie Stama, assistant director for community and education outreach at Penn State University Park.
"Navigating complicated conversations at the dinner table can definitely be a challenge," Stama said.
Stama and Senior Director Natalie Hernandez run counseling and psychological services at Penn State, and much like the football teams playing on Turkey Day, they think it’s best to go in with a game plan.
"Maybe the value or the goal is to help someone feel heard or to have just a respectful discourse," Stama said.
"Perhaps even having an honest conversation with your loved ones before the holiday meal or activity begins [and] to say 'Is it possible that we could leave some of these differences at the door?'" Hernandez added.
Hernandez and Stama suggest engaging in active listening and acknowledging what the other person has to say.
They also suggest removing any social media notifications ahead of time to avoid seeing something triggering.
If things get heated, the experts say to reach for a glass of ice water and focus on taking deep breaths, but it's okay to step away if it becomes too much.
"'I think I’m just going to exit here,' or 'I’m not really comfortable talking about this, and I’m so enjoying our time together,'" Hernandez said, suggesting rehearsing potential parting words ahead of time.
Stama believes that people might not agree on everything, but there’s a chance to find some common ground.
"Just being able to acknowledge those universal commonalities of ‘wow, we’re all feeling really tired right now,'" Stama said.
If the punchy, political points are left at home, there may be bigger benefits to keeping things civil.
"I’ve always heard that the food tastes better if the people who were preparing it were in good moods," Hernandez said. "I think that those things are more closely related than you would think."