Habits of a Peacemaker: 10 Habits to Change Our Potentially Toxic Conversations Into Healthy Dialogues

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.

Steven T. Collis is an author and law professor at the University of Texas--Austin. A former research fellow at Stanford Law School, he is the founding faculty director of the Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center and is one of the nation’s leading thought leaders on the First Amendment and civil discourse. He regularly speaks to major media outlets and lay audiences all over the globe on those issues. He is also the author of three other critically acclaimed books.