How to Have Impossible Conversations
A Very Practical Guide
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- ¥1,800
Publisher Description
From politics and religion to workplace negotiations, ace the high-stakes conversations in your life with this indispensable guide from a persuasion expert.
In our current political climate, it seems impossible to have a reasonable conversation with anyone who has a different opinion. Whether you're online, in a classroom, an office, a town hall—or just hoping to get through a family dinner with a stubborn relative—dialogue shuts down when perspectives clash. Heated debates often lead to insults and shaming, blocking any possibility of productive discourse. Everyone seems to be on a hair trigger.
In How to Have Impossible Conversations, Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay guide you through the straightforward, practical, conversational techniques necessary for every successful conversation—whether the issue is climate change, religious faith, gender identity, race, poverty, immigration, or gun control. Boghossian and Lindsay teach the subtle art of instilling doubts and opening minds. They cover everything from learning the fundamentals for good conversations to achieving expert-level techniques to deal with hardliners and extremists. This book is the manual everyone needs to foster a climate of civility, connection, and empathy.
"This is a self-help book on how to argue effectively, conciliate, and gently persuade. The authors admit to getting it wrong in their own past conversations. One by one, I recognize the same mistakes in me. The world would be a better place if everyone read this book." —Richard Dawkins, author of Science in the Soul and Outgrowing God
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Philosopher Boghossian (A Manual for Creating Atheists) and mathematician Lindsay (Everybody Is Wrong About God) share extensive research and strategies in this insightful manual for overcoming perceived divides in order to foster more meaningful discourse. Presented are 36 techniques for all types of conversations, including those trying to change minds, improve interventions, and find common ground with ideologues. The authors first lay out the principles of Socratic discourse and provide real dialogues as models for achieving larger goals, with a particularly helpful section on replacing "listen and believe," as a directive, with the more effective "listen, understand, and instill doubt." With practical guidelines on what to do and not to do, this instructive work (which also addresses the current societal communication "crisis" due to political polarization) will appeal to anyone looking to have healthier, deeper, and more persuasive conversations, as well as those who need to know when to simply walk away (while facing internet trolls, for example). Addressing an atmosphere of oppositional obstinance head-on, this fine collaborative effort will equip any reader with the conversational tools to bridge divides.)
