Communication is fundamental to what we're working to accomplish as a company and with our products. Sharing information accessibly and explicitly not only helps our cities, but strengthens our Ride Report community.

General Guidelines

• Trust that your perspective matters, strive to share openly, and speak nonviolently.
• Build trust and efficiency through transparency by putting information in a public place that is accessible to everyone as much as possible.
• Honor a diversity of communication styles by offering opportunities to share in multiple avenues—for example, if you're conducting a meeting, solicit thoughts and feedback via Slack or a document prior and after. If there's information you want folks to be able to reference, save it in a Notion page as well as posting it in Slack.
• Leverage tools and the community to share your perspective in the way that you judge most fit.
• Communication is a skill that we all continue to refine with practice--don't worry about whether you're doing it right or well, just feel free to share.
• Use discretion when it comes to transparency, taking care not to share information if it could potentially cause harm to individuals, i.e. sensitive personal information.
• These communication guidelines are designed intentionally to enable us to do better work--if they're not working for you, check with folks and provide feedback so they can be iterated.

Apologizing

We all make mistakes, and it's bound to happen that someday you'll say or do something that makes one of your coworkers uncomfortable, that hurts them, or is unintentionally discriminatory. If someone points out a mistake or asks you to stop doing something, it can be tempting to offer an excuse or justification, or to want take time to give an extensive apology, but it's important to remember that by reaching out to you, they've placed themself in a vulnerable position. If you're not careful, your apology can end up centering your own feelings, and they might end up feeling pressured to reassure you with something like "it's fine" or "no worries".

Instead you can thank them, apologize, and move on. (e.g. "Oh! Thank you, sorry.") This acknowledges that you're grateful that they told you and that you won't do it again, without lingering in a difficult moment or putting any pressure on them.

By being intentional about your apologies, you can create a space where people feel comfortable and safe asking for what they need and setting boundaries.

Nonviolent Communication

Nonviolent Communication is a model for communication that promotes human connection and resolution through honesty and empathy. We've paraphrased content from the Center for Nonviolent Communication here to give a general understanding of the practice, but would strongly encourage you to read more about the practice on your own. And practice!

<aside> 📚 There are abundant resources for learning and practicing NVC, starting with the book "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life" by Marshall B. Rosenburg, the creator of the NVC paradigm, to myriad resources on the internet, like The Center for Nonviolent Communication and Puddle Dancer Press. If you're looking for local workshops or resources in the Portland area, Wise Heart PDX is an amazing resource.

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NVC is a “language of life” that helps us to transform patterns of defensiveness and aggressiveness into compassion and empathy, improving the quality of all of our relationships.