📌 How this works
Make your Pledge first. Then work through each module in order - video, homework, mark complete. Your progress saves as you go. Bonus: scroll down for extra resources including a 9-tool Listening guide and a practical guide for when someone shuts down.
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After the Course
My Personal Summary
View and print your course highlights
Course Homework
6 Modules
One homework page for each step of PLEDGE. Each one is fillable online and printable in black and white.
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Watch First
Introduction
Meet Mark, hear the vision, and understand how PLEDGEtalk will change every conversation that matters.
Includes
Introduction video plus the six-step roadmap preview and course overview.
Begin →
1
P - Step One
Pause
The first waypoint on the roadmap - and the one that makes every other step possible. Hit the pause button before your emotions take the wheel.
Includes
Video lesson, three reasons to Pause, reflection questions, practice scenarios, and weekly log.
Open Lesson →
2
L - Step Two
Listen
Someone has to volunteer to go first. Not to defend - to genuinely understand the heart of what is being said. The dodgeball move lives here.
Includes
Video lesson, defend vs. understand contrast, listening tracker, and conflict walkthrough checklist.
Open Lesson →
3
E - Step Three
Echo
Only when you can echo back what was said does the other person truly know you heard them - and do you know you actually heard correctly.
Includes
Video lesson, four reasons to echo, the Jim the Politician story, and three-conversation echo practice.
Open Lesson →
4
D - Step Four
Disarm
Three words that drop the tension in the room: "That makes sense." You do not have to agree - you just have to walk around to their side of the table.
Includes
Video lesson, the 6-and-9 table diagram, three Disarm phrases, and a full four-step process exercise.
Open Lesson →
5
G - Step Five
Give
Now it is your turn. But the roadmap only gets you here after you have first heard theirs. That is not weakness. That is strength.
Includes
Video lesson, the turn-switch diagram, the microphone comparison, and waiting-your-turn practice.
Open Lesson →
6
E - Step Six
Engage
Keep going until you are both at a better place. Then engage PLEDGEtalk every day - not just in conflict. This is where the roadmap becomes a way of life.
Includes
Video lesson, Social Capital story, daily practice guide, and full six-step conflict exercise.
Open Lesson →
BONUS
Final Video
Connecting All the Dots
One final video that pulls the whole roadmap together - and sends you out equipped to love well in every conversation that matters.
Includes
Bonus video, full roadmap summary, everyday vs. conflict guide, and Mark's three next steps.
Open Bonus →
Course Resources
Printable
Companion resources to use alongside the course. View each one in your browser or print it to keep nearby.
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Print and Share
PLEDGEtalk Roadmap Infographic
The full PLEDGEtalk Roadmap - 6 Steps on the Road to Connection. A one-page visual summary of the entire process. Print it, share it, pass it on.
View & Print →
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Module 2 Companion
LISTENING: 9 Tools
Nine tools for doing it well - one for each letter of the word LISTENING. A deep-dive companion to the Listen module.
View & Print →
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Practical Guide
When Someone Shuts Down
A step-by-step action plan for re-starting a conversation when your spouse, child, or friend has shut down, shut up, or shut you out.
View & Print →
More
Everything else connected to your PLEDGEtalk journey.
Share the Course
Know someone who needs PLEDGEtalk in their marriage or family? Share the course landing page with them.
View Landing Page →
PLEDGEtalk.com
The main PLEDGEtalk website - resources, blog, and more from Mark Oelze.
Visit Site →
Next Step
PLEDGEtalk Coaching Community
Ready to go deeper? Join Mark and Zerrin for weekly live coaching, real conversations modeled in real time, personalized Q&A, and the full depth of PLEDGEtalk. Grow together. Thrive together. Learn together the full extent of what it means to love well as Jesus loves us!
Learn More →
"Above all else, earnestly endeavor to love..."
The Apostle Paul - the foundational premise of every step on the roadmap