5 tips for how to talk politics with friends and loved ones

State of play: Markman and colleagues published the fourth edition of their book, "Fighting for Your Marriage: Positive Steps for Preventing Divorce and Building a Lasting Love," earlier this month, and unsurprisingly, how to handle tense political conversations is part of the dialogue.

What he's saying: "The major predictors of future problems are not so much the positive things … as much as differences," said Markmam, co-director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at DU.

• "It's how they deal with those differences rather than the differences themselves."

Zoom in: The conversations can be so disruptive because the issues at stake in this election speak to our core values and principles, he continued. The authors offered these tips for navigating the minefields

1. Respect each other's opinions. You can validate the viewpoint without agreement.
2. Put guardrails on the conversation and take turns talking, being careful not to stray into a fight.
3. Take a media diet, particularly from voices that reinforce your worldview.
4. Keep connecting on a positive level, too. They recommend 20 positive interactions to every negative one.
5. If it's too hard to open the can of worms, then don't. Make a ground rule to keep politics off-limits.