You’re about to interview a 47-year-old male accused of sexually abusing multiple children over several years. The allegations are detailed. The victims are young. The evidence suggests a pattern of manipulation and grooming. You’ve reviewed the file. You know what he’s accused of. And you are about to walk into that interview room. Let me
When Your Values Walk into the Room Before You Do…and Create Havoc Read More »
Most difficult conversations fail before they even begin. Not because of what gets said, but because of what we’re trying to do when we’re saying it. In any conversation – whether you’re an FBI agent conducting a challenging interview, a manager addressing performance issues, or a parent talking to a teenager – you’re doing one
How We Fail at Difficult Conversations (And One Way to Succeed) Read More »
I recently worked with an ABC crew filming episodes for their series The Interrogation Room, analyzing high-profile interrogations. One case in particular – the Chris Watts interview – raised a question that’s relevant far beyond criminal investigation: What brings a seemingly normal person to make a catastrophically irrational decision? The easy answer is to label
In July 2010, I landed in Islamabad just minutes after AirBlue Flight 202 crashed into the nearby Margalla Hills, killing 152 people and leaving a scar in the mountainside that haunted me for the two years I was stationed in Pakistan. Every time I looked at that mark on the side of the mountain, I
Why We Get Risk So Wrong: The Control Paradox in Decision-Making Read More »
Ninety-three percent of us believe we’re above-average drivers. Statistically impossible, of course, but it reflects something wonderful and problematic about being human: we persistently experience a world in which we are above average. This same superiority bias shows up consistently in how leaders assess their communication abilities. In twenty-plus years of teaching executives and professionals,
The Blind Spot in Communication: Why Smart People Miss What’s Obvious to Others Read More »
You’re in a meeting. A colleague proposes a solution to a problem your team is facing. Something about it immediately irritates you – maybe the tone, maybe that this person is getting attention, maybe just that you didn’t think of it first. Before you’ve consciously processed the idea’s merits, you’re already formulating your critique. Or
Why You Attack Good Ideas: The Neuroscience of Conversational Self-Sabotage Read More »
