Regardless of how smart or “woke” we think that we might be, the facts are that humans are driven by emotion first and logic second. And our emotional brains push us to be biased in lots of interesting ways. We’re inclined to think we’re smarter than we are, that people ...
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Whatever you’re trying to get across, remember that it’s about the why, not just the what. People need reasons – evidence to believe whatever it is that you’re trying to get across. All engagement and all conflict resolution have to begin with a common understanding and acceptance of the basic ...
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Made up, malicious, intentional disinformation is no longer the rare exception that can simply be ignored or dismissed; it’s now constant and it has infected our traditional and social media, politics, culture, and it threatens the viability of democracy in the United States. Normalized lies are having profound changes on ...
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It took just one more cell phone recorded murder and George Floyd’s death has finally forced the widespread public anger and tough conversations that we’ve needed to, hopefully, make needed change happen. It’s normal for people to want to avoid talking about unpleasant things and controversial issues, but for most ...
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Speaking of tough conversations, I hope you’ll find some thoughts and ideas here on how to manage yourself as the facilitator. Read More...
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It feels like a perfect storm. Politics is more broken right now than at any time in recent history, race relations are at a new low, the credibility of authorities and leaders is questionable and the only consistent information that we get is consistently “walked back”. Some of our best ...
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We’re not on the same page. People in the U.S. aren’t even in the same library, it seems. Having or facilitating conversations between people who differ so dramatically in their views feels like an insurmountable task but there are better and worse ways to approach them so consider this. Read ...
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I’ve been binge watching The Tudors on Netflix and, in homage to Anne Boleyn, I realize that these are stressful times for most of us. Whenever I start feeling a little whiny, I think about my doc and nursing friends and relatives working in public health, elder care, and in ...
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On top of your real everyday life, your job and priorities have changed in the past few weeks. Although most of the people who read this are typically responsible for public engagement in their organizations, a lot of you also do double duty managing public information, internal communication, public affairs, ...
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If you’re fortunate enough to still be working as the economic fallout from the pandemic continues to evolve, you may find yourself in a position of delivering, or advising on how to deliver, less than great news to your peers or the public in coming weeks. If you find yourself ...
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