Margaret E Anderson
Trainer – Author – Consultant
Specializing in Persuasion, Consensus Building, Communication Skills
Live Training
Our training programs are true workshops with group activities that move participants beyond mere knowledge to hands-on skill.
Ask about our New Distance Training for individuals
Margaret's Books
Learn how women’s status benefits entire societies in Women Can Renew the World If…and So Can You. Enjoy fiction plus communication skills lessons in Love on the Rocks with a Twist. Or turn to Bridges to Consensus for a complete consensus-building system.
Consulting
Consulting is the most efficient way to equip yourself to address specific, real-life concerns. We can focus on a particular project; an individual, such as a coworker; or any situation where you would like to get all you seek without taking away from another.
PERSUASION COACH NEWS SERVICE
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Learn how women’s status benefits entire societies in Women Can Renew the World If…and So Can You. Enjoy fiction plus communication skills lessons in Love on the Rocks with a Twist. Or turn to Bridges to Consensus for a complete consensus-building system.
My latest book has been published and I could not be happier to share this with you!
The heartwarming memoir of an uncommon man with an uncommon life aboard an uncommon ship, USS Vestal, in World War II. Margaret’s dad, William Anderson, naturally practiced some of the skills Margaret teaches. When dealing with a difficult situation, Willie looked around for resources that might help him, just as we do when attempting to reach agreement was someone. In dealing with others, he thought before he spoke, keeping his voice low and respectful.
Willie was running his own successful business when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. Though concerned about how his business would fare in his absence, he applied for admission to the US Navy the very next day, Dec. 8.
He knew the regimentation of military life would run against his nature. Yet, this resilient man persevered, creatively applying his unique skills and talents to make his life on a Navy service ship stand out. He proved that those peacetime talents were also valuable in war. He could call the Man he saw in the mirror a friend.
The tales Willie later brought home to his children did not feature many battles, but rather, unique experiences. He had a brush with death, not in war, but in boot camp. Natives serenaded him with a tune from home on every Pacific island he visited. He helped save another man’s life while on Shore Patrol duty. He stowed away on an Army plane. He made friends with a future Pulitzer Prize winner. And more.
Learn how women’s status benefits entire societies in Women Can Renew the World If…and So Can You. Enjoy fiction plus communication skills lessons in Love on the Rocks with a Twist. Or turn to Bridges to Consensus for a complete consensus-building system.
Other books I have published
Latest News and Info
Me Too: Questions and Analogies
The Me Too movement raises emotions, questions and speculative answers. How could so many famous men have sexually harassed or abused women? Some of those men have made large, positive contributions to our society. Others, if not angels, at least seemed normal, respectable.
Want or Need? The Answer’s in the Interests
In a Facebook group I administer, I raised a discussion question, “What does love mean to you?” Among many great, thought-provoking comments, one member quoted something she’d heard, “Love is giving what someone else needs, not what they want.”…It can get tricky, though, because I ‘m not necessarily the best judge of what another needs.
Hope in a New Year
It may seem that most news is bad news lately. But bad news gets more airtime than good news. I see many reasons for hope in the long run. Yes, the environment is being harmed, species are threatened, and non-renewable energy sources are being used up. But various countries and organizations are taking countermeasures, and they’re working.
Why Do You Celebrate Christmas?
When we disagree with someone, we instinctively focus on the differences between our opinions. But to persuade or build consensus with someone, it works better to look for commonalities and discuss them first…I recently had an opportunity to practice commonality-seeking in a difference of opinion between blogger Catherine Onyemelukwe and her spouse, Clem…’You Unitarians don’t believe in Christ. So why do you celebrate Christmas?’
A Gift of Poetry for You
The bulk of my book “Love on the Rocks with a Twist” features short stories, each followed by study notes on the characters’ interactional skills–what they did well and how they could have done better. There are two exceptions. The introductory essay, “What’s the Twist,” and the poem “Dinner Date.” As my holiday gift to you my readers, I offer “Dinner Date” and it’s study notes in their entirety here
About Margaret anderson, the Persuasion coach
Trainer, author and consultant Margaret Anderson brings to the table decades of actual use of the interactional skills she teaches, as well as many years of training groups and individuals in consensus building and related communication skills.
A Harvard-trained negotiator (trained under Drs. Roger Fisher and William Ury), Margaret is also trained in general, family and church mediation. From 2002–2014, she regularly designed and taught her own curricula for Rice University’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. She has also lectured for the University of Houston and for Texas State University. Prior to launching her training and consulting business, she gained experience in international and domestic business and was instrumental in resolving a number of serious disputes.
Margaret’s writing awards include: First Place in Genre Fiction in the Writers Digest 74th Annual Writing Competition; and First Place for Nonfiction Book in the Houston Writers Conference New Horizons 1997 Manuscript Contest