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 will naturally agree with us,… read more →
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 facts and information. The burden… read more →
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 relationships with people that we’ve… read more →
Speaking of tough conversations, I hope you’ll find some thoughts and ideas here on how to manage yourself as the facilitator. Read More
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 who we are, what we… read more →
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 of us, that’s simply no… read more →
Lord Acton is known to have said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” David Brin later said, “… it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible.” The genesis of public engagement is based on people’s right to some influence on the decisions that have an effect on their lives. A key challenge… read more →
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 ER and ICU units, which… read more →
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 More
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, planning or other disciplines. So,… read more →