How Should Staff and Mentors Discuss the Recent U.S. Election with Youth: Leading Experts have Answers

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By Antonio Aguilar, Amy Anderson, Anna Arsenault, David L. DuBois, Carla Herrera, So Jung Lee, Yu-Fang (Jane) Lin, Lidia Monjaras-Gaytan, Hailey Roman, Jean Sack, Bernadette Sánchez, Kay Thursby Bourke, and Jade Valdez.

Adults who volunteer as mentors or work with youth may be wondering whether and how to talk about the U.S. election results with a young person. Experts say talking about politics, social issues and elections is healthy and can have a positive impact on young people. Not raising such topics runs the risk of your mentee thinking that big events, like elections, are not important or relevant to their lives. Young people are often thinking about these issues and could benefit from having a trusted adult to help them process their thoughts. Below we offer some tips to help adults have conversations that support youth in the wake of the election.

Before/Getting Ready for the Conversation

  1. What are you thinking and feeling? Before you reach out to your mentee, take care of your immediate needs by processing your own feelings and emotions and ask yourself what support you need.
  2. Reflect on how your own social identity, political views, and life experiences influence how you are feeling about the election. Does anything make it harder or easier for you to relate to how your mentee might feel?
  3. Think about how your mentee’s social identities—such as race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, or socioeconomic status—might shape how they feel, think about, and make sense of political events and outcomes. Recognizing these varied experiences can help you create a space that respects any differences in perspective and fosters a supportive conversation.

During the Conversation

  1. Ask questions to learn what your mentee thinks and feels about the election. Asking about their feelings gives them the chance to express and clarify their views and emotions, say what they know or don’t know, and express any concerns and questions they have.
  2. Listen to learn.
    1. Don’t assume you know what the young person is feeling and thinking.
    2. Actively listen and reflect: Immerse yourself in what it’s like to be this young person.
    3. Wait…don’t jump in right away. Let them talk and listen some more. And healthy silence is ok. Sometimes waiting a little bit allows the young person to think and say more.
    4. Paraphrase what they said and ask open-ended questions. For example, “Can you tell me more about that?” “How are you feeling about…”
  3. Affirm and validate them. Express empathy and validate their feelings and willingness to share.
  4. The young person might say that they don’t want to talk about the election, and that’s fine. You’ve opened the door to let them know if they have questions or want to talk about it with you they can come to you.
  5. Remember, you don’t have to have all the answers before you can engage in a supportive conversation with them. And it’s ok to say that you don’t know the answer.
  6. Should you express your emotions and opinions with the young person? This is tricky especially if your views are very different from those of the youth or their parent. If the youth asks about your views/opinions, then share  in a youth-affirming way. Your goal in this conversation is not to convince the youth to think like you but for you to learn about the youth and give them the opportunity to express themselves. Here are some examples of how you can express your views/opinions/feelings:
    1. “I appreciate you sharing how you see things. That was important for me to hear.  The way I see it is…”
    2. “It’s good for us to talk about this so we can learn from each other. I really value your perspective–even when it’s different from mine! Here’s what I believe…”
    3. “I’ve been feeling… because I believe…. What do you think? I’d love to hear your perspective if you feel like talking about it. No pressure to share now, and there’s no need to agree with me.”
  7. How do you close the conversation? Ask youth what they need from others and if there is anything they’d like to do (for example, learn more about the impact of the election). Summarize the main points of what you talked about.

Resources

These resources can help you dive deeper into conversation with young people while keeping the above points in mind.

Authors: Antonio Aguilar, Amy Anderson, Anna Arsenault, David L. DuBois, Carla Herrera, So Jung Lee, Yu-Fang (Jane) Lin, Lidia Monjaras-Gaytan, Hailey Roman, Jean Sack, Bernadette Sánchez, Kay Thursby Bourke, and Jade Valdez.