Practicing Connection
Improve your resilience and readiness in a rapidly changing world.
Jessica Beckendorf and Erin Carlson Rivera host this exploration of personal and collective practices that empower us to work together to help each other, our families, and our communities improve our resilience and readiness.
Episodes
133 episodes
Stronger Together: A Change Framework for Community Action. With Tom Mosgaller
In this conversation with Tom Mosgaller, we unpack a flexible Change Framework designed for communities of any size or location. Tom explains why relationships and taking action together are central, and how aligning desire, vision, power, and ...
Pressure Relief: What Cooperatives Can (and Can't) Do for Child Care. With Kristin Forde Hurckes
When child care is hard to find and harder to afford, some communities aren't waiting for a fix. Kristin Forde Hurckes of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension Center for Cooperative explains how cooperative models ar...
The Connective Tissue: A Look at Statewide Collaboration to Support Military Families. With Jennifer Holliday
Many military families don't live near a large installation. Jennifer Holliday, Alabama's first Military Family Liaison shares what it takes to coordinate support for geographically dispersed families and what any service pro...
When Community Works: Care, Connection, and Collective Resilience. With Julika von Stackleberg, Ph.D.
Belonging isn’t just a warm feeling - it’s something people build together over time. In this episode, we’re talking about how communities learn to do that in ways that are genuinely caring, how they keep it going, and wha...
Asking Powerful Questions
Community engagement, co-creation and collaboration depend on meaningful conversations. Asking the right question is the most effective way of expanding a conversation, keeping it engaging and making it meaningful.In t...
Finding Your Purpose as a Group, Four Questions That Can Help
Getting to a shared purpose as a group often requires digging a little deeper than usual. In this replay episode from 2024, Jessica and Bob talked about the "chaordic stepping stones," a helpful tool for going below the surfa...
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How Does a Small North Carolina City Become a National Example of Collaboration Between Military and Community?
How does a small North Carolina city become a national example of collaboration between military and community? Mayor Will Lewis says it starts with relationships - and a willingness to show up for one another.I...
Applying Systems Thinking to Local Issues
What is the value of using a systems lens in community work?In today’s archive episode, we are hearing from Bob and Jessica about solving issues in your community on a systems level, not just on a focused project level. ...
Leveraging the Community Assets to Support Military Families
We talk a lot on this podcast about the importance of collaborating with others in your community. But if you are finding yourself overwhelmed or with limited capacity, this framework and practice are a great way to get start...
Putting your Icebreakers to Work
Do icebreakers always make things awkward?Have you ever had to do an icebreaker that made you cringe? What if your icebreakers actually helped your team do better work? In this episode Erin and Jessica discuss why iceb...
Navigating Tricky Partnership Problems (Listener Q&A)
How do you build community connections that actually work?Have you ever gotten stuck as you try to build community partnerships? In this month’s Listener Q&A, Erin and Jessica answer questions about classic partner...
Do you see yourself as a generous collaborator?
Do you see yourself as a generous collaborator? Have you ever been generous with a collaborator, only to leave disappointed? This week's practice is all about unpacking generosity. Making time for generosity can build trust, ...
Why Community Engagement Efforts Fall Flat
Most of us don’t ignore input - we just ask for it too late. And by then, the decisions are already made.What if the biggest issue with community engagement isn’t whether you do it - but when and how?In this episode, Jessic...
Empathy in Action: Going Beyond Surface-Level Interactions
Empathy mapping is a simple tool for helping you imagine someone else and their experience.In this From the Archive episode, Bob and Jessica explore a powerful tool designed to deepen your connection with others—empathy mapping.&n...
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School Liaisons and Extension: A Network of Support for Military Youth
When military kids move, their whole world shifts—schools, friends, routines, and support systems. In this episode of Practicing Connection, school liaison Karen Watkins-Diouf and 4-H educator Jeremiah Johnson share how th...
Who's Missing From Your Network?
Most of us don’t mean to work in silos - but our calendars and inboxes quietly build them for us. In this episode, Jessica and Erin guide you through a five-minute exercise to map your work relations...
How to Handle Workplace Expectations, and Other Listener Q&A
This month’s listener Q&A gives us three juicy areas to cover: struggling with frequent task switching, dealing with burnout and unachievable workloads (and the expectations associated with this), and how our practices integrate with per...
What the Room is Telling You: How to Read the Room
You've walked into a meeting and felt it immediately - something's off. The energy is flat, or there's a tension nobody's naming. What do you do with that? In this practicast, we share a simple, repeatab...
Burnout, and Resilience, in Service Providers
What if the key to resilience is practicing together?This episode fom the Practicing Connection archives features a conversation about burnout and resilience with guests Dr. Charles (Chip) Benight and Nicole Weis from the Lyda Hil...
Prevent Burnout with "Unfocusing"
What if the key to getting more done is doing less focusing? In this episode, Erin introduces the concept of unfocusing - not slacking off, but intentionally giving your brain a chance to rest and re...
How to Get the Most out of Practicing Connection Podcast (Listener Q&A)
Have you ever asked, “So what do I do with this?” after listening to a Practicing Connection episode? Put the pieces together with us on our first Q&A episode! Join Erin and Jessica as we answer listene...
Why Unspoken Expectations Erode Trust (and How to Fix It)
You're frustrated with someone you’re collaborating with, but you can't quite explain why. Chances are, the problem isn't their performance - it's the unspoken expectations neither of you knew the other had.Most...
Encouragement That Works: How to Give a Real Pep Talk
A good pep talk isn’t just about saying “you got this.” When done right, it can reignite purpose, build trust, and help others find strength when things get tough.Everyone needs encouragement - but great encoura...
