Courageous Conversations

The Girl Scout Law calls us to be a sister to every Girl Scout. One of our priorities at Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana is to build a true sense of belonging for all. You’ll find these ideas in our Friday evening workshop and Decision Influencing Questions (on page 14) for this 2023 Annual Meeting. You play a role in our shared commitment to learn and take action toward a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice (DEIRJ). All of us contribute to a welcoming culture, everyone can bring their full “self” to Girl Scouts.

Courageous conversations happen when we are brave enough to discuss topics that are of extreme importance, where members of our community are likely to hold an array of perspectives. In these courageous conversations, emotions are often attached to people’s ideas and stances, and people sometimes call these conversations “difficult” or “controversial.” At Girl Scouts, we choose to see them as courageous!

When navigating courageous conversations, as members of the Girl Scout community, there are a number of things that we can think about and do to ensure productive and respectful conversation for all involved. So many of these ideas emerge from our Girl Scout values, which are encapsulated in our Law and Promise. If we are going to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what we say and do, what does that look like in a courageous conversation? What does it mean to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout when taking part in a courageous conversation?

There are a number of things we can do as Girl Scouts to concretely embody the values embedded in our Law and Promise as we take part in courageous conversations. Specifically, each of us can:

• Assume that each person has good intentions.

• Pause to think of what we would like to convey before we speak.

• Listen carefully to each speaker, trying to understand their perspective, even if we don’t hold that same perspective.

• Ask questions when we don’t understand something (this may be a concept, an idea, a policy item, or what a particular speaker is saying).

• Consider sharing why this issue or policy item is important to us.

• Know that our body language conveys a message, even if we are not sharing our ideas verbally.

• Try to frame differences as a difference of ideas or perspectives. We can direct our comments toward the different ways we see an issue, not at someone personally. For example, “I hear a number of people speaking about this issue in this way, yet I see it a little differently….” or “Tracy, I heard your ideas on this issue, and I really agree with you on x. When it comes to y, though, I do see it differently…”

• Refrain from name-calling or saying anything about another speaker’s motives or character.

You may think of other ways in which we can enact our Girl Scout values in a courageous conversation, and you should feel free to share those additional ideas. What’s clear is this: we do not all have to think alike! Our diversity is our strength, and when each person can both share their ideas and be treated with respect and dignity, that makes for a courageous conversation and a productive learning experience. As long as we remember that our words matter, and that our goal is to make the world a better place, we can have productive, illuminating, and courageous conversations. We look forward to having them with you!