Across the resettlement network, staff and partners are noticing an uptick in community questions about newcomers. Many people want clarity about who is arriving and how local services support them. These questions usually stem from uncertainty or limited information. When people have few opportunities to interact with newcomers or understand how resettlement works, conversations can feel tense or confusing.
Your approach plays a role in how these moments unfold. When you communicate clearly, you reduce confusion. When you listen with intention, you lower defensiveness. When you name shared values, you create space for real connection. This blog offers practical skills you can use to effectively navigate community conversations. It focuses on preparing before conversations begin, using de-escalation and listening skills when emotions rise, and using storytelling to connect people to newcomers in a more human way.
1. Prepare in Advance
Preparation helps you approach conversations calmly and with clarity. Even a short pause when asked a question can help you get centered and take stock of what the moment may call for. This pause also helps you understand your own starting point and consider what the community member may need.
When preparing for public conversations, such as community forums or council meetings, take a few minutes to write down your role, core talking points, and notes on the local context to help you engage more thoughtfully and confidently.
- Understand the local context. Each community raises different questions. Some focus on services and others focus on schools, safety, or other concerns. When you notice these patterns, you can anticipate what people may need from the conversation. You might notice: “Community members often want to know about the typical jobs refugees hold in our town.”
- Develop clear talking points. After you understand the local context, identify a small set of points you want to communicate. Choose points that address common questions and keep them simple and accurate. Talking points can help you keep the interaction grounded even when the conversation shifts quickly. You might decide: “I should gather some data from our employment team about commonly held jobs. Once I have that data, I can work with our development manager or communications focal point on talking points.”
- Check your own baseline. After you prepare your talking points, take a moment to notice how you feel before you speak. Stress and fatigue shape how you communicate and how you receive information from the other person. When you start an interaction with as much composure and calm as possible, you support a clearer exchange and reduce the chance of unnecessary tension. You might think: “It’s been a long week. When I go to the quarterly consultation meeting tomorrow, I’ll try to focus on staying as calm as I can when answering questions.”
- Clarify your role. With a clearer baseline, you can identify what you can address in the conversation and what you cannot. You can offer accurate information, explain how local programs function, answer practical questions about services, and keep the conversation focused on facts. You do not need to carry the weight of resolving disagreements or shifting someone’s perspective. You might decide: “In my role as a volunteer coordinator, I can give general information about our programs and the clients we serve. I can also come prepared with contact information for our communications manager if people have further questions.”
This preparation strengthens the quality and consistency of your community interactions.
2. Promote De-escalation and Safety
Conversations about welcoming newcomers can move in unpredictable directions. You may start in a calm discussion and suddenly hear strong opinions or frustration. When emotions rise, the other person might speak faster or louder, and the exchange may no longer feel constructive or safe.
In these moments, it’s important to have a structured approach to de-escalation like the one mentioned in this webinar on de-escalation practices: engage, listen, and link.
- Engage by calmly evaluating the safety of the conversation. Notice whether the person’s tone or body language signals rising tension and decide if the setting still feels appropriate for continuing the exchange. Avoid getting into power struggles, and don’t introduce new information that could escalate the situation further. Instead, focus on creating a safe space for open dialogue.
- Listen attentively to what the other person is saying. Validate their feelings and reflect back their points to show that you understand what they are saying, even if you disagree. This can help reduce defensiveness and lower the emotional intensity of the conversation. As you listen, try to pay attention to the values beneath their concern. People often express worries rooted in safety or stability. Naming shared values creates connection and helps the conversation move toward common ground.
- Link to a clear next step. You might offer a resource or suggest a follow up. If at any point you are concerned about safety, you can politely end the conversation or offer to move the conversation to another time or place. Linking signals that the door remains open for continued dialogue, if appropriate.
The goal in navigating challenging conversations is not to debate viewpoints. The goal is to create enough calm for respectful communication, while maintaining safety throughout.
- Archived Webinar: A Trauma-Informed Approach to De-Escalation and Crisis Response
- Guide: Preventing Crises and De-escalating Difficult Situations with Newcomer Clients
- eLearning: De-escalation in Resettlement, Asylum, and Integration Settings, Kaya and the International Rescue Committee
- Archived Webinar: De-escalation in Practice: Strategies for Supporting Newcomers Experiencing Crises
3. Share Stories to Build Understanding
Facts matter, but many people connect more easily with personal stories. Stories let community members imagine newcomers with routines, responsibilities, aspirations, and hopes for their future. This brings the conversation down to a human level. When employed strategically and ethically, storytelling becomes a practical tool for building understanding.
Effective storytelling includes four practices:
- Share accurate stories with permission. Protect privacy by asking for clear consent before you share details about someone’s experience. Explain how the story will be used and give the person space to shape what feels appropriate to include. This approach builds trust and ensures the story reflects their perspective in a respectful way.
- Use a dignified and strengths-based approach. Lift up the skills people bring, the resilience they show, the contributions they make, and the effort they invest in building their lives. Avoid framing people only in terms of their challenges.
- Align stories with shared values. Connect stories to themes many audiences understand. Family, work, stability, and community participation offer a familiar frame that helps people connect with the newcomer’s experience. Using these themes can reduce distance and support more constructive dialogue.
- Keep stories local and concrete. Local examples often create a stronger sense of connection. When a story takes place in a familiar neighborhood or school, listeners can relate more easily and understand how newcomers participate in daily community life. This approach encourages a more personal connection.
Storytelling does not aim to persuade. It offers people a clearer picture of who newcomers are and gives them enough context to build understanding at their own pace. As familiarity grows, conversations often become easier and more productive.
- Webinar: Ethical Storytelling – How to Tell Stories with Human Dignity, Church World Service
- Toolkit: Reframing Refugees: Messaging Toolkit, Welcoming America
- Video: Finding Common Ground: Stay-At-Home Mom and Sudanese Refugee Share Culture and Welcome, Welcoming America
- Guide: Safety in Storytelling: A How to Guide from Leaders With Lived Experience, Refugee Advocacy Lab
Where to Go from Here
Community understanding grows through steady engagement. When you offer clear information and hold space for questions, you help people gain a more accurate sense of how resettlement works. When you share stories, you give community members something familiar to connect with and reduce the uncertainty that can shape early reactions. These moments of connection can strengthen trust and support a healthier environment for dialogue.
More Helpful Resources
Welcoming America:
- Toolkit: Building Meaningful Contact: A How-To Guide
- Toolkit: Neighbors Together: Promising Practices to Strengthen Relations with Refugees and Muslims
- E-Learning Course: Moving From Individual and Small Group Welcoming to a Whole-of-Community Approach
- Guide: Engaging Local Leaders to Foster Welcoming Communities
- Guide: Building Cohesive Communities in an Era of Migration and Change
- Guide: Innovations in Building Meaningful Contact Across Difference
- Tipsheet: Harnessing Volunteer Energy to Support and Welcome Refugees in Your Community
- Guide: Talking Points for Those Who Welcome Refugees
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The IRC received competitive funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant #90RB0053. The project is 100% financed by federal funds. The contents of this document are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
