Learn the practical skills that can help you build bridges, heal relationships, and engage in productive conversation about even the hardest topics.
Imagine turning what could be a contentious conversation with a family member, a friend, or a coworker into a fruitful exchange that enlightens everyone’s minds and inches both of you toward a solution. Steven T. Collis, one of the world’s leading experts on civil discourse, reveals ten practical habits that can help you navigate the potential minefields of hard topics and leave you and those you converse with feeling thoughtful and productive.
Most people have experienced the slippery slope of dialogue that descends into polarized argument. We yell at each other. We gaslight. We twist one another’s words and meanings. We embrace facts that support our conclusions and ignore those that don’t. Or we sit in silence, afraid to discuss anything of substance. If how you treat others matters to you, this book offers powerful new habits that can give you the confidence to engage in dialogue about hard topics while building and strengthening relationships.
Learn successful habits that will allow you to, among other things:
- Reframe conversations to make them more productive
- Engage in real learning by breaking free from technological manipulation
- Ask questions of others to understand their true motivations
- Recognize gaslighting and not allow it
- Know when and how to use humor
- Take time for long reflection
- Embrace the discomfort of non-closure
Whether you’re motivated by a desire for more fruitful discussions about politics or simply bringing more peace to your home, Habits of a Peacemaker offers you the tools to engage in constructive and healthy dialogue.
Noteable Features:
Forbes.com
- "Steven T. Collis offers a practical, humbling path to more productive and empathetic dialogue. As a law professor (the University of Texas at Austin) specializing in the First Amendment and a leading expert on civil discourse, Collis has built his career navigating some of the most divisive issues of our day. He’s helped bridge ideological gaps between people in a wide range of domains—academics, diplomacy, religion, politics, judiciary, the LGBTQ+ community—essentially, people who are likely poised to disagree with each other."
Reviews
"In this time of sharp political divides and overwhelming feedback, Collis is a much-needed voice of reason and compromise." -Booklist
"Collis's distinctive contribution touches at the heart of what we all must relearn in our polarized age. Foreign governments have set as their goal the polarization of the United States. Teams of foreign actors work every day to use technology to pit us against one another. In this straightforward and practical book, Collis has given us the antidote. The habits it offers, with both humor and compassion, can help each of us do our part to heal this broken world." --Nury Turkel, Commissioner and Former Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and award-winning author of No Escape: The True Story of China's Genocide of the Uyghurs
"Do you ever give up hope that Americans can disagree without being disagreeable? Then read Habits of a Peacemaker and have your faith restored. With engaging examples and solid science, Steven T. Collis sets out everyday practices that equip each of us to resist the outrage merchants and make America civil again. I put down his book with new insights into how to be a better citizen--and a better friend and listener, too." --Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow--Brookings Institution, and author of The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth
"I have spent most of my career fighting for and educating about the freedom of speech, which requires developing attitudes and skills that enable us to discuss the most divisive topics constructively. Collis's enlightening and inspiring book serves as an essential guide toward these goals. Habits of a Peacemaker enables all of us to maximize the positive potential of our speech freedom, to the benefit of not only ourselves, but also our pluralistic democracy." --Nadine Strossen, Former National President of the American Civil Liberties Union; Senior Fellow, FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression); author of Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know
"Steven T. Collis is a much-needed voice in our divided society. This is a vital read for anyone who wants to develop the habits that will allow them to talk about difficult topics productively. From the echo chambers modern technology has created, we often seem more divided than we truly are, and the habits Collis recommends will help us recognize that and build bridges with the people who matter most in our lives. An urgent and thought-provoking read to help us heal our hearts and our discourse." --Judge Thomas B. Griffith (ret.), United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; Senate Legal Counsel; Lecturer, Harvard Law School
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