Why Bridging Political Divides is Good Business – And How Communicators Can Help
We all have a role to play in calming the divisive feelings that have arisen in the U.S. Here are simple, practical steps you can take.
Kristin Hansen, executive director of the Civic Health Project, believes that communicators can play a critical role in crafting brand stories that unite audiences with wildly divergent beliefs and values.. “You have a really important role to play in telling better stories,” she said in her fireside chat at Ragan and PR Daily’s Brand Storytelling Conference on April 13, “Bridging the divide with brand storytelling.”
While often communicators’ goal is aimed toward inspiring people to buy things, Hansen believes that we can widen the range of stories we tell while still making our businesses “wildly successful.”Hansen’s work at The Civic Health Project seeks to address the problem of severe polarization in society by taking the temperature down and being hyper-aware of the unintentional biases that colors the stories we tell. Hansen shared “jarring” statistics to make it clear why this project is needed:
54% of people say other Americans pose the greatest risk to our country
57% of Republicans and 41% of Democrats say the other party are “the enemy” and not just opponents
20% of Americans say people on “the other side” lack the traits to be considered fully human
