“I see a difference between being curious and practicing curiosity. That’s what we really try to do and encourage others to do: create the space for people to practice their curiosity.” ~ Malka Ranjana Kopell

“It’s that offering of ‘I’m here to be interested and curious‘ as opposed to extractively curious that establishes that kind of respectful curiosity — person to person, human to human.” ~ Palma Joy Strand

Malka Ranjana Kopell and Palma Joy Strand are co-founders of Civity, a national nonprofit organization that works with people to build the relational infrastructure necessary for communities in which everyone has what they need to thrive.

Malka and Palma created this word — “civity” — to describe a culture of deliberately engaging in relationships of respect and empathy with others who are different. They offer tools and trainings to help us all do just that.

No surprise, curiosity plays an important part, but not just any curiosity…

We talk about the inspiration for creating a new word for an old need; being “in relationship” with lots of people; seeding civity; respecting our differences; distinguishing being curious, being incurious, and practicing curiosity; connecting the head and the heart; listening closely — and why all our little ripples matter.

This is not rocket science. This is just being intentional about connecting with people as you move through your day, as you sit at your desk…That being in relationship with people in a positive way really matters, and it’s something that all of us can do. Something that you can do.

Palma Joy Strand

Listen to Ep. #311: Civity: Engaging Others with Respect, Empathy & Curiosity, with Malka Ranjana Kopell & Palma Joy Strand

…there was just too much goodness here, so I made the hard choice to move the analogies and lovely final reflections to an added clip. Don’t miss it: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

Listen to the BONUS clip (6 min.)

Malka Ranjana Kopell and Palma Joy Strand founded Civity in 2013; Malka is CEO and Palma is Research Director. Check out their video, ranked #1 in increasing social trust (just 8 minutes!).

Some years ago I had the pleasure of talking with Palma about curiosity and the law.

If you enjoy this civity conversation, try these related C2BC Classics: Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, with Monicá Guzmán; Resolved: Curiosity Is Good for Debate, with David Trigaux; & How Curiosity Can Change Your Life & Transform the World, with Scott Shigeoka.

Theme music by Sean Balick; “Town Market” by Onesuch Village, via Blue Dot Sessions.

You can subscribe to Choose to Be Curious on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.