Training Virginia’s Delegates-Elect
Richmond, Virginia – Following the state’s recent House of Delegates elections, NICD’s legislative program participated in the orientation and training for the state’s 17 delegates-elect. Taking place just two weeks after the elections, the training allows the upcoming class to get up to speed quickly while building meaningful relationships with others in the class.
Program Director Thom Little and Associate Director Jack Thomas presented before the class, leading the soon-to-be legislators in activities that grow the skills of creative problem-solving and negotiating. The lessons of America’s founding fathers, many of them Virginians, previewed the need for robust collaboration across party lines in our system of government. This intentional cooperation in the modern era depends on the trust and desire to find common ground that NICD’s Practical Approach to Civility leads participants in creating.
After a state election season that often became national news, the participants had the chance to build meaningful relationships with each other, first by getting to know each other beyond the party labels with a quick “VA Bingo” activity. In years past, the bingo get-to-know-you has brought classes together, even leading a recent class to all go to King’s Dominion, one of Virginia’s roller coaster parks, after finding out in an NICD session that one member of their cohort had never been.
The session then continued with an abbreviated Personal Journey section led by Jack Thomas. The session, while limited by time constraints, allowed the members to tell their story and hear another in a paired activity, and encouraged members to continue this work of building trusting relationships with their colleagues.
Dr. Thom Little ended the session with two negotiation activities primed for the delegates-elect. One exercise focuses on sharing five hypothetical experiences or things between two people, where an honest sharing of information can often lead to mutually beneficial outcomes. The second exercise flips this dynamic on its head, where the information the participants can share may heighten a negotiating impasse. Even under tight timelines, many of the new members were able to come to agreements and see for themselves how important being honest and willing to find creative solutions can be.
With the Virginia legislative session beginning in the new year, NICD was proud to work with the new members of the House of Delegates. Especially so close after the election, we were glad that members showed fantastic willingness to put partisanship aside while working together for Virginians.
Thank you to the House of Delegates and to the Clerk’s office for having NICD’s State Legislative Program!
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About NICD, the National Institute for Civil Discourse
NICD works to build the nation’s capacity to engage our differences constructively. In 2011, the University of Arizona created NICD after the Tucson shooting that killed six people and wounded another thirteen, including former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In the weeks prior to the shooting, Congresswoman Giffords was already in discussion with the University of Arizona about creating a center that would focus on improving the quality of discourse. The galvanizing power of that event brought together founding honorary co-chairs George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and an impressive bipartisan group of other leaders to honor Congresswoman Giffords’ vision.
NICD’s State Legislative Program is one of our most important programs that creates and strengthens bipartisan relationships through mutual, trust-based, and effective communication in state legislatures around the country.
NICD offers Americans a variety of opportunities and resources to engage differences constructively at https://civildiscourseinstitute.org/.
