The New York Times Opinion published a guest essay entitled “The Dark Side of Empathy” on May 4, 2025. While it has a political slant, it raises the question of whether empathy is being used as a tactic. As background, and as I noted in a blog last [Read More]
My husband and I had quite a scare last week: we thought we would have to say goodbye to Buddy, our 14-year-old male dog who has cancer. We found him collapsed out in the yard and thought the end had come. We took him to the emergency vet with the [Read More]
Last year, I attended a memorial service online. The service meant a lot to me. The telephone rang, and rather than letting it ring and go to voicemail, I picked up and very quickly said I was attending the service and said goodbye. Even though the caller (“Jane”) was aware [Read More]
I always thought that empathy was empathy. That is “…the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel, see things from their point of view, and imagine yourself in their place. Essentially, it is putting yourself in someone else's position and feeling what they are feeling” (“What is Empathy” by [Read More]
Our recent book club discussion featured Split the Pie: A Radical New Way to Negotiate by Barry Nalebuff (HarperCollins, New York 2022). While I understand the author’s concept, I am not sure if I am able to implement it as a mediator. In the simplest of terms, in a two-party [Read More]
We all love a delightful story. And stories are important in negotiating and resolving disputes. This point was eloquently made by Dr. Joshua N. Weiss in Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, “The Sunday Minute” (April 17, 2022): At their best, stories create a sense of connection, build trust, allow the listener [Read More]
Once again, the Harvard Project on Negotiation (PONS) posted a blog on whether men or women are more likely to use deceptive tactics in negotiation. (See my February 21, 2020, blog) Citing several studies, researchers found competitiveness and level of empathy play a role in whether a negotiator is likely [Read More]
I do not know about you, but I have been emailing much much more over the last thirteen months than in pre-Covid days. And, with this increase has come attempts to negotiate by e mail. A recent study confirms what my gut has told me: that negotiating by e mail [Read More]
