CLARITY METHOD — Welcome to American Together

Start here. Learn the 3 Ps—Pause, Pinpoint, Proceed—and how episodes + resource pages turn clarity into action.

Resources for this Episode

Have you ever seen a headline that made your heart race—then later wondered if it was even true?

This opening episode introduces The 3 Ps Clarity Method, a simple process for thinking more clearly in a noisy world:

✅ Pause – before reacting.

✅ Pinpoint Truth – look deeper than your first impression.

✅ Proceed with Purposeful Forethought – take action based on facts, not just emotion. Together, we’ll look at why fact-checking matters, how misinformation spreads so easily, and how ordinary Americans can slow down, think critically, and make better-informed decisions.

🎯 In this episode you’ll learn how to:

* Recognize how emotion fuels misinformation

* Apply the 3 Ps Clarity Method in everyday life

* Build healthier, more thoughtful conversations online and off

💬 Join the Conversation 💬

- Have you ever changed your mind on a topic after fact-checking?

- Or did today’s episode reinforce what you already believed?

Join the conversation on the American Together YouTube channel under Welcome to American Together | American Together video, or in our upcoming community space (coming soon).

🛠 3 Ps in Action: Comment Edition 🛠

Need a little extra help shaping your reply? This quick guide uses the same 3 Ps process I use myself: Pause, Pinpoint Truth, Proceed with Purposeful Forethought.

🧭 Practice Challenge 🧭

Try it out this week—apply the 3 Ps to a news article, social media post, or conversation.

🔎 Full Sources & Further Reading 🔎

• Episode Sources (clickable)

  1. Economist Intelligence Unit. (2023). Democracy Index 2023: Frontline democracy and the retreat of rights. (EIU.com)

  2. Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175–220. (doi.org)

  3. Pew Research Center. (2023, September 19). Americans’ dismal views of the nation’s politics. (pewresearch.org)

  4. Scherbarth, A. (n.d.). The 3 Ps Clarity Method: Pause, Pinpoint Truth, Proceed with Purposeful Forethought. American Together. (american-together.com)

• Further Resources (clickable)

  1.  News Literacy Project — Free lessons and tools that help people of all ages spot misinformation and verify sources.

  2.  Media Bias/Fact Check — Outlet database with bias and factual-reporting ratings; use it to compare perspectives, not crown one “right.”

  3.  Stanford History Education Group – Civic Online Reasoning — Research-based digital-literacy lessons on evaluating online information.

  4.  American Psychological Association – Psychology topics — Hub of readable articles on cognition, reasoning, misinformation, social media, and more.

🔗 Continue the Journey 🔗

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