How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide

From politics and religion to workplace negotiations, ace the highstakes 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 youre online, in a classroom, an office, a town hallor just hoping to get through a family dinner with a stubborn relativedialogue 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 conversationwhether 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 expertlevel 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 selfhelp 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