Do you often feel introverted, generally preferring to be in a small group of trusted friends than in a large gathering, for example? It turns out that there are a lot of people who feel that way. Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, cites studies … Continue reading Introversion, the Legal Profession, and Dispute Resolution
In 2018, I wrote a post, Make Video History, describing my experiences creating videos – especially oral history videos – and encouraging others to do so. (In those quaint old days, I included a link to zoom, figuring that most people weren’t familiar with it.) In the 1980s, I conducted oral history interviews of my … Continue reading Making Video History, Revisited
This post is prompted by an article by Washington Post columnist Paul Waldman, We’re Still Asking the Wrong Question about Biden and Ukraine. He writes: For once, can we confront a foreign policy challenge without obsession over whether the president is being “weak” or “strong”? … In any foreign policy challenge, understanding what goes into … Continue reading Which is Better: To Be Strong or Smart?
This post provides excerpts from an op-ed by Neal Katyal, one of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s former clerks. Mr. Katyal describes Justice Breyer’s humility, recognition of his own biases, and openness to considering others’ points of view. There was, in short, a constitutional humility about Breyer. He didn’t pretend to know the answer to every … Continue reading Humble Listening on the Bench
To resolve a dispute, one or more people need to change their minds. Negotiation and mediation involve techniques to help people do just that. Obviously, this can be very difficult. People have reasons for their positions and they may not change them easily. This post focuses on two approaches for changing minds, which are highlighted … Continue reading What I’m Reading – Changing Minds
Peter T. Coleman, professor of psychology and education at Columbia University, an award-winning scholar and a prolific author, recently published his latest book, The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization. He holds a joint appointment at Teachers College and The Earth Institute. In his spare time, he is the director of the Morton Deutsch … Continue reading Peter Coleman’s Outstanding Evidence-Based Work on Reducing Polarization
Jim Stark and Doug Frenkel just became scholars-in-residence with the International Academy of Mediators, following in the footsteps of Hal Abramson, Lela Love, and Dwight Golann. I have appreciated Doug and Jim’s work – actually of all the SiRs – and this post describes some of the things I appreciate about it. It also includes … Continue reading Appreciation of Doug Frenkel and Jim Stark
The Washington Post just published an article, Five Things Worth Knowing About Empathy. Take a look. Click on the title of this post to access the article.
Four social scientists who study empathy and political division think so. Take a look at their piece in the Washington Post, Our Divided Times Are an Opportunity for Empathy. Really. To access the article, click on the title of this post.
The good folks at the Association for Conflict Resolution of Greater New York and CUNY Dispute Resolution Center at John Jay College invited me to give a talk as part of their monthly breakfast series. Last week, I gave a presentation, Helping Parties Make Decisions About What’s Really Important, which synthesizes ideas I have been … Continue reading Concepts That Can Help Practitioners Help Parties Make Decisions in Disputes
