There can be no empathy where there is no civility. I was at a conference recently during which one the presenters made this statement. It struck me as I had never thought about these concepts as being connected. But, indeed, they are. “Civility” is defined as “…the act of showing [Read More]
I just finished reading Becoming by Michelle Obama (Crown Publishing 2018). While the book is an autobiography of the former First Lady, its theme is more than just a story about how some African American kid from the Southside of Chicago broke multiple barriers to become a world known public [Read More]
I came across an article on negotiation ethics that intrigued me because I am co-teaching ADR Ethics at USC Gould School of Law this semester. Typically, before I discuss the topic of mediation ethics with my students, I delve into the topic of “negotiation ethics” in general. The article, entitled [Read More]
Have you ever sat back with your eyes closed and listened to music or someone speaking? Why did you do it? Probably, to appreciate more fully and deeply what you were hearing. By shutting down one of our senses, we allow ourselves to hone in more deeply to the music [Read More]
As part of a book club, I just finished reading Difficult Conversations [How To Discuss What Matters Most] by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen (Second edition, Penguin Books, New York, 2010). While its advice is geared towards the layman, as an experienced neutral, I found some interesting nuggets [Read More]
In recent years, much has been made of the fact that we are living in the digital age: we are tethered to our smartphones, iPad, laptops and other devices and are heavily dependent on them. Much like Pavlov’s dogs, whenever our smartphone beeps, vibrates, rings et cetera, we check it [Read More]
About a week before Christmas, LiveScience published an article reviewing two studies suggesting “… that our brains prompt us to act more like Santa than Scrooge. (Id. at Your Giving Brain: Are Humans Hardwired for Generosity? by Mindy Weinberger (December 19, 2016.).) Based on two different research experiments, the researchers [Read More]
Last week, I wrote about empathy – its definition and what researchers have found about why we may be more empathetic in certain situations and/or given our personalities. The blog concluded with the notion that empathy can be learned; it is our choice whether we wish to be more empathetic. [Read More]
