Who do you have to be, to be with me? It’s a simple yet profound question at the heart of every human interaction. Too often, and usually unwittingly, we offer those we interact with an identity for themselves that inflicts discomfort and creates opposition; by talking down, by disrespecting, by triggering stigma and defense to it. When this happens, people take the easier path — away — and your message is ignored.
The Relational Intersect collection of essays is an ongoing conversation with the end goal of building thriving, loving and equitable communities.
A Relational Intersect is that point where people interact. Where my image of myself and you runs into your image of yourself and me. More often than not, we see ourselves and others differently than they do. It is a place fraught with opportunities for miscommunication.
“You” might be a government agency, a political party, a community initiative, a company, a product or… you. “Me” is any of us — or, to be more precise, our identity. And the complex swirl of emotions and unconscious actions and reactions that chart the course of how this relationship gets underway and the path it thus heads down, is The Relational Intersect.
– Simon Dixon
These pages contain an ongoing conversation with the end goal of building thriving, loving and equitable communities. So many great programs and initiatives already exist with the goal of bringing such communities about. We aren’t looking to be another.
But something has thus far been missing: The platform of understanding and relationships that such initiatives are built upon.
The Relational Intersect seeks to be that platform.
A Relational Intersect is that point where people come together. Where my image of myself and you runs into your image of yourself and me. It is a place fraught with opportunities for miscommunication.
“You” might be a government agency, a political party, a community initiative, a company, a product or… you. “Me” is any of us – or, to be more precise, our identity. And the complex swirl of emotions and unconscious actions and reactions that chart the course of how this relationship gets underway, is The Relational Intersect.
– Simon Dixon
People who need help the most can often be the most challenging people to give help to. Why do messages of assistance often get ignored? How should those that are in power build healthy relationships with those that aren’t?
On this site, in these writings we will explore the strictures of identity all of us carry and how, when understood, they can positively inform our relationships; on a personal level and on a community level.
How, across the divides of money, power, race and culture, do we build thriving, loving and equitable communities?
How can we help people find power in fruitful ways? What happens when we let powerlessness build up?
Behavior change driven by logic, threats, etc. — and therein willpower — will always backslide. Behavior change driven by identity is very little effort. What is the effort, after all, in just being yourself?
Attempts at “empowerment” often only provide a stark reminder of where the real power lies.
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Simon Dixon has spent his career studying the ways that perceptions and communications develop between individuals and groups and has used these insights to develop effective communications strategies that deliver measurable results.
Simon's previous speaking engagements include:
