Today we're sharing an episode first recorded by another podcast.

This interview comes from Village Squarecast, which is made by a local group in Tallahassee, Florida, called The Village Square.

Every year they organise a series of meetings and events that bring people together and build connections among citizens of different ideological, racial, ethnic and religious divisions.

The podcast we'll hear next is an example of that.

This is Let's Find Common Ground. I'm Ashley Melntite.

And I'm Richard Davies. We'll be hearing shortly from Chloe Valdery, a 30-year-old African-American entrepreneur and public speaker,

who came up with an anti-racism training method she calls the Theory of Enchantment.

It's been used in businesses and schools and it takes a different approach from most programs centered around diversity, equity and inclusion.

Chloe says her practice fights bigotry instead of spreading it.

Chloe has held training sessions around the world, including in South Africa, the Netherlands, Germany, Israel and the US.

The Theory of Enchantment includes three core principles.

One, treat people like human beings, not political extractions.

Two, criticise to lift up an empower, never to tear down and destroy.

And her third principle, root everything you do in love and compassion.

Here's Chloe Valdery in conversation with Javita Woodrich of the group Volunteer Florida.

My name is Chloe Valdery. I'm 29 years old. I created Theory of Enchantment. I'm just kidding. That's great.

I created, not at all, 30. I created Theory of Enchantment about three years ago as an attempt to really revitalise the diversity and inclusion space and really infuse it with an orientation towards love.

The Theory of Enchantment believes that bigotry, that prejudice comes from very specific experiences that we as human beings have.

We believe that if we experience scarcity, especially of a psychological nature, then we don't have the right tools to deal with that scarcity.

Let's say a lack of self-worth, then we have a tendency to overcompensate by projecting our own sense of inadequacy and insecurity onto the other.

And we do this to defend ourselves. We do this to feel better about ourselves, but it obviously results in very damaging outcomes.

And so in order to undo that and to fix that really, we need to enter into the habit and the practice of getting in right relationship with ourselves.

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