by Erin Renfrew

A young assistant troop scouter, recently out of scouts herself, decided to sign up for dialogue for peace training so she could better her communication skills with scouts, rovers, Scouters, and parents. Being so young, scouts still believe that I am a friend and someone they can confide in, but forget that I have a different role to play, an adult leadership role, and with this role comes different responsibilities and boundaries. Parents think that I don't know much because of how young I am, although I am very knowledgeable.

From this training, I wanted to expand my communication skills, to effectively communicate with people of all ages and roles, without my age defining my abilities. However, from dialogue for peace training, I gained so many more skills than just communication skills.

This training has given me great insight into how to effectively create a safe space where everyone, no matter the dynamics of the people involved, will be able to share their assumptions and opinions and leave with new insight. A space where we are able to discuss the hard topics without judgment, anger, and argument. A space where we are able to learn and be curious. A space where we can resolve conflict and leave with a resolution. A space where we can grow through effective communication and dialogue. I can't wait to start implementing all of these skills in my group, crew and district. I can only continue to grow my dialogue skills and hope to be an asset to the dialogue team moving forward