Julia Minson

In this engaging discussion, Julia Minson, an associate professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and expert in decision-making, shares her insights on navigating disagreements. She distinguishes between conflict and disagreement, emphasizing the importance of curiosity and receptiveness in communication. Listeners learn actionable strategies for constructive disagreement, including the HEAR framework, which focuses on empathy and self-reflection. Minson highlights how fostering understanding can enhance creativity and collaboration in both personal and professional interactions.

Ken Adelman, former U.S. ambassador to the UN and arms control director during Reagan's administration, shares insights on the 1986 Reykjavik summit with Mikhail Gorbachev, revealing the depth of their surprisingly candid negotiations amid Cold War tensions. Julia Minson, a decision scientist at Harvard, discusses the 'psychology of disagreement' and how personal biases shape our perceptions of reality. Together, they explore naive realism, the challenges of conflicting views, and the vital importance of understanding diverse perspectives in communication.

In this episode of The Decision Corner, Brooke discusses disagreement with Julia Minson, an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and former lecturer at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Her research explores the psychology behind disagreement and collaboration — why we often suck at turning the former into the latter, and how we can be better. Brooke and Julia dissect the thought processes that often fuel our discussions, how discussions turn into arguments (particularly, unproductive ones), and the reasons we can’t seem to figure out why. Julia gives us practical interventions, applicable on a personal level, that can help us avoid the feared Thanksgiving dinner screaming match and other conversations like it. Specific topics include: Advocacy v.s. Inquiry mindset Why being a know-it-all is a problematic blindspot How to effectively signal open-mindedness Active listening: body language and verbal acknowledgement Cognitive misconceptions about our counterpart’s open-mindedness Scopes, baselines, and defaults The role of asking questions, and how to ask them with genuine curiosity Conversational receptiveness, intentional vocabulary, and the HEAR technique