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Ready to host your own Purple Living Room Party?  Find A Cohost The first step is to find someone you know on the other side of the political spectrum who would be willing to cohost a party with you. Make sure it's someone you trust and enjoy spending time with! Choose an Issue You and your cohost will choose the topics for each discussion round together. For the ISSUE round, be sure to choose something you both care deeply about. Once you've chosen the issue, you each invite one or two other friends who share a perspective on the same "side" of the issue so that the party will be balanced. Make it FUN! The goal of the Purple Living Room Project is to bring people together in a way that will let them enjoy their time together. You could host your party at anytime of day. Maybe it's a morning coffee meeting. Maybe you meet for lunch or tea in the afternoon. Maybe it's a cocktail event or a dinner party. Or maybe it's a late-night dessert meet-up! When planning your event, be sure to consider the preferences of your participants. When we first introduce the idea of a Purple Living Room Party to friends, some people say, "Well, there definitely should not be any alcohol involved." Other people say, "Well, of course, there must be alcohol involved!" A glass of wine might just break the ice in the right circumstances, but only if it works for your group! Look for ways to make your venue comfortable and welcoming. You might have purple candles, purple flowers, or purple snacks. A quick Pinterest search for "Purple Party" will get your creativity flowing! You might consider preparing a small gift for your guests to thank them for their participation. A purple votive candle, a sachet of lavender...some small token to celebrate your time together. Have FUN planning your Purple Living Room Party! -The Purple Living Room Team PS: Do you have fabulous ideas for making your Purple Living Room Party FUN? Please share them with our facebook community...
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We're continuing to unpack the building blocks of the Purple Living Room Project. Now that we've looked at the Purple Points Protocol in-depth, let's talk about how to use the protocol in the context of a Purple Living Room Party. Purple Living Room Parties are designed with a particular arc...there is a warm-up round, an issue round, and then the party closes with a gratitude round. We like to think of it like a three-course dinner. There's an appetizer, a main course, and then dessert! Let's start with the APPETIZER...  This first round is meant to be a "warm-up" for the group. Everyone gets to know each other a bit better and the group has a chance to practice the protocol with a light-hearted topic. The hosts choose the topic for this round based on the interests of the people attending. Different topics work better with different groups. If you're all sports enthusiasts, your question might be, "What is a team you love to watch play?" If you're all avid readers, you might choose, "What is a book you'd like to read again?" If you're stuck, "What is a movie you love?" or "What is a comfort food you would like to eat right now?" seem to work for most every group! The Personal Round is not meant to take long. The goal is to find one or two "Purple Points" that you all have in common...and to have a little laugh. Once you're warmed up, it's time for the MAIN COURSE...  The Issue Round is the main event. This will take the majority of your discussion time. The hosts choose the focus issue before the party. The topic can be as broad or narrow as you would like to make it. For instance, you could talk about Gun Rights in general or you could focus on Concealed Carry or Gun Sales in particular. If you're looking for issues to discuss, here are two websites to get you started... The hosts are responsible for keeping the conversation focused on finding Purple Points. It might take a while to shape the wording of each statement so that everyone can agree. Stick with it...you'll get there! Once you've found your Issue Purple Points, it's finally time for DESSERT!  The last round ends the Purple Living Room Party with something sweet. The Gratitude Round is a chance for everyone to share what makes them proud to be Americans. You can keep this general, or you can focus the gratitude round on a particular topic like INNOVATION or NATIONAL PARKS or ARTISTIC EXPRESSION. You follow the Purple Points Protocol, but this round usually flies by quickly. It's just a little check-in with one another to focus on the positive. It's a chance to see how much we ALL love our country and to recognize that we all have a stake in helping America thrive. During this round, while you're thinking about what you're thankful for about our country, be sure to thank one another, too! If everyone follows the protocol, the whole party should last about an hour... A delicious hour of meaningful conversation! Ready to get started? Next week, we'll share tips for hosting your own Purple Living Room Party! -The Purple Living Room Team We're taking a few weeks to unpack the essential elements of The Purple Living Room Project. Last week, we looked at the Purple Code. This week, we'll focus on the Purple Points Protocol. The protocol is designed to help us have focused, fair and productive conversations. Using the protocol ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to speak and that the focus is on listening carefully to one another. The goal of the protocol is to find Purple Points. These are areas of common ground that everyone in the conversation agrees upon. There are three rounds to the Purple Points Protocol...  The discussion starts with everyone giving a personal statement on the topic. This is a chance to share your opinions and also to explain what life experiences have helped shape your thinking. The goal is to help everyone understand your position. Going around the circle, each person takes a turn to make a personal statement. We recommend a time limit of two minutes for each speaker. This keeps everyone focused on the topic and makes sure the protocol doesn't go on all night! A key part of this round is that everyone speaks without interruption. This can take some practice. We are all conditioned to give feedback right away and listening without responding feels unnatural. It's awkward at first, but after you try it a few times, the silence is liberating. You can focus your attention entirely on what is being said without needing to respond immediately. There will be time for that in Round Two...  The second round is focused entirely on making connections. Once again, everyone takes a turn to speak around the circle, nobody interrupts the speaker, and there is a two-minute time limit. This time, each person focuses their comments on areas where they find agreement with what someone else has said. The goal is to make connections with what you heard others say in the first listening round. Ideally, you will find points of agreement with several members of the group. These can be SMALL points of agreement. That's okay. It's a start! When everyone has shared their connections, it's time for Round Three...  The final round of the protocol is the Purple Points Conversation. The discussion opens up now and anyone is free to speak at any time. The goal is to find Purple Points of agreement. Reflect on the personal statements and connections you've heard and look for areas of possible agreement. This final round takes longer than the first two listening rounds and usually results in a rich conversation about the topic. Once you get close to finding a Purple Point, it still sometimes requires extra wordsmithing to find just the right statement that works for everyone. Stick with it...you'll get there! Please remember that these conversations are not meant to be debates. It's not a time to convince others to think like you do. The focus always remains on finding areas of agreement and on listening carefully to others to better understand their points of view. That's the Purple Point Protocol in a nutshell. Give it a try with friends or family! Next week, we'll look at how to use the protocol in a Purple Living Room Party. -The Purple Living Room Team  We'll spend the first part of 2018 reviewing the building blocks of the Purple Living Room Project. The most essential element of the project is The Purple Code. RESPECT CARE TRUST GRATITUDE FUN These five principles guide every interaction in the Purple Living Room Project. If you'd like to join us looking for Purple Points, this is where we begin. Be sure that everyone you invite to the conversation understands that these are the ground rules. We agree that... RESPECT We are all equally entitled to our beliefs and opinions. CARE We'll be kind with our words and actions. TRUST We'll share our honest thoughts and opinions. GRATITUDE We'll focus on what we're grateful for about our country. FUN We'll look for ways to enjoy our time together! Agreeing to The Purple Code is the first important step toward finding Purple Points. Next week, we'll talk about step two! -The Purple Living Room Team  Happy New Year!
As you're making resolutions for a happy and healthy new year, consider making a PURPLE action plan for 2018! Here are a few ways to get involved...
Here's to a 2018 filled with more dialogue, thoughtful listening, greater understanding and many PURPLE POINTS! -The Purple Living Room Team |
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May 2021
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