RESPECT Communication Guidelines

These are the values and practices the Evergreen Association strives to uphold in all of our gatherings for business and fellowship.

R - take RESPONSIBILITY for what you say and feel without blaming others
E - use EMPATHETIC listening
S - be SENSITIVE to differences in communication styles
P - PONDER on what you hear and feel before you speak
E - EXAMINE your own assumptions and perceptions
C - keep CONFIDENTIALITY - share CONSTRUCTIVELY for the benefit of the COMMUNITY
T - TRUST ambiguity because we are NOT here to debate who is right or wrong.

Mutual Invitation

In order to ensure that everyone who wants to share has the opportunity to speak, we will proceed in the following way: 

The leader or a designated person will share first. After that person has spoken, he or she then invites another to share. Who you invite does not need to be the person next to you. After the next person has spoken, that person is given the privilege to invite another to share. If you do not wish to say anything, simply say "pass" and proceed to invite another to share. We will do this until everyone has been invited. We invite you to listen and not to respond to someone's sharing immediately. There will be time to respond and ask clarifying questions after everyone has had opportunity to share.