Opinion

In the post-Trump era, research suggests the best ways to win people over.

 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/opinion/progressives-conservatives-think-again.htm

Louisa Gallas | Michigan

The body talks!! I’d like to add to this urgently important discussion: the body’s role in approaching differences with each other. In my professional experience as therapist and mediator, most people haven’t had the opportunity or motivation to study their physical reactivity, especially in challenging conversations. So many interpersonal interactions are driven by the body’s knee jerk reactions and personal history/ trauma. Mindfulness study teaches how to listen, to PAUSE when uncomfortable rather than forging ahead with a thought. It teaches that growing and moving ahead together in conversation is more important than ‘winning’. To ask questions. I hope the cognitive research on how to bridge our differences will consider the often nearly hard- wired responses of the body and its role in communication, especially tough interaction. Thank you.