“Do Nothing” to Improve Communication

“Do Nothing” to Improve Communication

In Bridges to Consensus, I recommended three mental or spiritual values that support good consensus building and communication practices: compassion, calmness, and curiosity.  I recommend regular meditation as a way to foster the second value, calmness. Now I’d like...
Empathy or Analysis, Which Boosts Persuasion?

Empathy or Analysis, Which Boosts Persuasion?

A recent study at Case Western University indicates that we can’t think analytically and empathetically at the same time. Most people’s brains automatically choose the proper network, analytical or empathetic, for a given task. Perhaps more importantly,...
A Real Life Trust Story

A Real Life Trust Story

In last week’s post, I raised a chicken-or-egg question based on the recently discovered correlation between trustfulness and ease of reading people. Does trustfulness actually improve our ability to spot the bad guys? Or do people with good intuitions have the luxury...
Trust v. Cynicism

Trust v. Cynicism

I recently read about a study at the University of Toronto designed to test who is best at detecting lies, cynics or those who tend to give others the benefit of the doubt. The “high trusters” proved better at spotting liars than those who assumed the...
Kindness Yields Confidence

Kindness Yields Confidence

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” The Tao Te Ching When I first came across this three-part quote, the second and third parts clicked with me immediately. Somehow, it seemed...