Important!

• Registration is required to participate! Send an email to info@rationality-freiburg.de
• Costs are 35€ per person (exceptions and details see below).
• The number of participants is limited.
• We advise you to avoid intensive intellectual activities before the workshop, otherwise you might be too tired. The workshop has a deliberate practice component, i.e. exercises with quick returns. This usually requires a lot of energy and attention.
• The session will last 4 hours. If you need to leave earlier, feel free to do so!
• Participants are expected to agree with the following self-characterizations:
  • “I’m open to changing my mind on some of my core beliefs.”
  • “I’m happy to delay saying what I think if it can help being cooperative.”
  • “I’m ok with trying step-by-step techniques, even if they may feel a bit robotic at first.”
  • “If someone says they refuse to give me something I want, then I respect their choice.”

What will we do?

Camille Berger, a guest coach who is coming from France specially for this event, will teach a workshop on “Effectively Handling Disagreement” based on the following techniques:

• Deep Canvassing
• Street Epistemology
• Narrative Transportation
• Cooling Conversations (Smart Politics)

The goal is to practice the ability to communicate effectively with people who disagree with you. This includes skills such as managing an angry interlocutor, creating contact with someone who is hostile and discussing respectfully yet rigorously.

More information.

About Camille

I discovered Street Epistemology in 2018. In the rise of polarization and fake news, I had identified a tool that helped me have important yet quiet discussions on what mattered to me.

But I was soon frustrated by the impracticality of teaching : I couldn’t find an intensive, time-efficient way to learn it.

Resolved to take action, I went through a master’s degree in cognitive science (ENS Paris), in the hope of optimizing and streamlining the learning process of conversational techniques. I read as many scientific sources as I could find on the topic, in the aim to develop a wide, interdisciplinary, scientifically robust understanding of it. These efforts came to fruition in March 2024, after several betas, with the Effectively Handling Disagreements workshop.

Source

Contact information:

• Email: camille.berger-at-psl.eu
• Phone: +33 six 40 97 94 94 (Signal, Messenger, WhatsApp or Telegram)

Costs & Financial Aid

The base price is 35€ per person. Out of this, 30€ go to the guest speaker Camille and 5€ are for the room rental.

If you are a student or otherwise suffer from financial hardship (roughly meaning you can barely pay for your own housing) you can pay less or even come for free! We don’t want money to be a dealbreaker. Simply communicate this fact in your registration email to info@rationality-freiburg.de .

If after the workshop you feel it was not as good as you expected, Camille is happy to reimburse you the 30€.

Useful Documents

• Deep Canvassing Handout
• Deep Canvassing Script
• Street Epistemology Handout
• Street Epistemology Script
• Street Epistemology Role-Playing Sheet
• As a bonus, here’s the link to the presentation

Organization

You are worried you have nothing to contribute? No worries! Everyone is welcome!

There always is a mix of German and English speakers and we configure the exercise pairings so that everyone feels comfortable participating. The primary language is English.

This meetup will be hosted by Camille.

There will be snacks and drinks.

In the above map the location where you should leave your bikes is marked in blue and the entrance (at the end of the metal ramp) with a red cross.

Other

Learn more about us.

Image generated with GPT 4o.