Learn · Unit 2: Talk
Boundaries and difficult conversations
Say a limit in one plain sentence, receive someone else's limit with acceptance and nothing else, respond to a romantic boundary, and raise a difficult subject.
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Lessons
- Saying a boundary plainlyState a limit or a counter-offer in one sentence, without apology or blame.
- Receiving a boundaryAnswer someone's limit with acceptance and nothing else: no bargaining, no sulking, no "why?".
- "I'd rather slow down"Respond to a romantic boundary by stopping, agreeing, and leaving the next step to her.
- A difficult conversationRaise a problem by saying what happened and what you would like, then asking for the other view.
Video summary
Exercises that go with these lessons
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Talks, videos and pages by the people whose ideas these lessons discuss, matched to the topics the lessons cite. They are outside this site, and nothing from them loads until you follow a link. A link is not an endorsement; read the note under each one.
Marni Kinrys: Boldness and Creepiness Aren't Separated by What You Say. It's What You Do After.
Kinrys's argument that boldness differs from creepiness by what a man does after seeing the other person's reaction, per the title; supports noticing and adjusting.
Keep in mind. Coach's opinion in a commercial channel; the app must add that persistence after a no is never acceptable.
Jason Laker: Demystifying Sexual Consent Communication | Jason Laker, Ph.D. | TEDxSJSU
A university researcher on how college students communicate and read consent, including verbal and nonverbal cues, and why assuming consent from silence or ambiguity fails.
Keep in mind. Single-researcher talk drawing on a student sample; check against the consent-communication evidence file.
Thames Valley Police: Tea and Consent
Short animated explainer showing that consent must be actively and freely given, can be withdrawn, and cannot be inferred from silence or from earlier agreement.
Keep in mind. Public-safety campaign, not research; uses a metaphor and should be paired with plain-language rules.