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The Conversation
The Conversation
Julia Minson, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

To have better disagreements, change your words – here are 4 ways to make your counterpart feel heard and keep the conversation going

Showing you're listening is a critical part of fraught discussions. Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Your 18-year-old daughter announces she’s in love, dropping out of college and moving to Argentina. Your yoga-teaching brother refuses to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and is confident that fresh air is the best medicine. Your boss is hiring another white man for a leadership team already made up entirely of white men.

At home, at work and in civic spaces, it’s not uncommon to have conversations that make you question the intelligence and benevolence of your fellow human beings.

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