How to engage with someone you disagree with

+ Latin hip-hop mixes pain and faith with demands for change US Edition - Today's top story: To have better disagreements, change your words – here are 4 ways to make your counterpart feel heard and keep the conversation going [View in browser]( US Edition | 31 May 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Drone strikes in Kyiv and Moscow show anything goes in UAV warfare]( - [5 summer reads that explore LGBTQ teen and young adult life]( - [‘Succession’ musical score exposes characters’ fragile self-delusion]( [​](Lead story I know I’m guilty of jumping straight to “persuasion mode” when I realize I’m in a discussion that’s actually a disagreement. Public policy scholar Julia Minson, from the Harvard Kennedy School, points out that it’s a natural reaction to “put forth the strongest argument for your own – clearly superior – perspective in the hope that logic and evidence will win the day.” To no one’s surprise, this is rarely effective. Partisan divide, anyone? But with her colleagues, Minson has figured out how to engage in more productive ways to communicate than just hammering away at your point. Using computational linguistic analysis, they identified a communication style that makes people feel their counterpart is thoughtfully engaging with their own perspective. People feel heard when they're talking to someone who demonstrates what these researchers call “conversational receptiveness.” And it’s [not a hard technique to learn to use yourself](. [[Sign up here for our Understanding AI series – four emails delivered over the course of a week.](] Maggie Villiger Senior Science + Technology Editor Today's newsletter supported by [readers like you.]( Showing you’re listening is a critical part of fraught discussions. Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images [To have better disagreements, change your words – here are 4 ways to make your counterpart feel heard and keep the conversation going]( Julia Minson, Harvard Kennedy School Researchers have identified ways to have more productive conversations – even when you’re talking to someone who holds an opposite view. Politics + Society - [Drone strikes hit Moscow and Kyiv – in the growing world of drone warfare, anything goes when it comes to international law]( Tara Sonenshine, Tufts University As drone strikes become a more routine part of warfare, a set of rules or standards that can help determine how they are used in warfare is needed, writes a former US diplomat. - [US Army Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas’ journey from enslaver to Union officer to civil rights defender]( Christopher Justin Einolf, Northern Illinois University A Southerner, Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas was a racist enslaver before the Civil War. But he fought for the Union because he prioritized his oath to defend the Constitution over state interests. Ethics + Religion - [Street scrolls: The beats, rhymes and spirituality of Latin hip-hop]( Alejandro Nava, University of Arizona Latino artists have been forging their own paths in hip-hop for decades, giving voice to young peoples’ pain, faith and demands for change. - [What is Theravada Buddhism?]( Brooke Schedneck, Rhodes College Theravada Buddhism is the dominant religious system in several parts of South and Southeast Asia, but there is a rich diversity of beliefs and practices in this tradition. Education - [Summer reading: 5 books that explore LGBTQ teen and young adult life]( Jonathan Alexander, University of California, Irvine A scholar of young adult fiction presents a fresh list of LGBTQ ‘must-reads’ for the summer of 2023. Economy + Business - [Most super rich couples have breadwinning husbands and stay-at-home wives, contrasting sharply with everyone else]( Jill Yavorsky, University of North Carolina – Charlotte; Sarah Thebaud, University of California, Santa Barbara While most heterosexual couples are dual-earners, super rich couples continue to have gender-traditional arrangements in which the man is the sole breadwinner. - [Amid fears of Chinese influence, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has grown more powerful]( Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology President Joe Biden signed an executive order in 2022 tightening the rules for foreign investment in the US. Arts + Culture - [How the sounds of ‘Succession’ shred the grandeur and respect the characters so desperately try to project]( Delia Casadei, University of California, Berkeley Composer Nicholas Britell festoons earnest Romantic music with sounds that gleefully desecrate it, underscoring the show’s emotional core: a lust for power joined by immense self-loathing. Health + Medicine - [Cytomegalovirus lies dormant in most US adults and is the leading infectious cause of birth defects, but few have heard of it]( Laura Gibson, UMass Chan Medical School Although testing for CMV during pregnancy isn’t routine and there isn’t universal screening for infants, there are steps pregnant people can take to protect themselves and their newborns. Trending on site - [‘Man, the hunter’? Archaeologists’ assumptions about gender roles in past humans ignore an icky but potentially crucial part of original ‘paleo diet’]( - [A little-understood sleep disorder affects millions and has clear links to dementia – 4 questions answered]( - [What really started the American Civil War?]( Today's graphic [A chart showing the maximum monthly SNAP benefits available in 2023 according to the number of people in the household.]( From the story, [GOP’s proposed expansion of SNAP work requirements targets many low-income people in their early 50s – but many of them already work]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our weekly and biweekly emails: • [Weekly Highlights]( • [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( • [Global Perspectives]( • [Global Economy & Business]( Trying out new social media? Follow us: • [Mastodon]( • [Post.news]( • [Instagram]( • [LinkedIn]( - - About The Conversation We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. [Donate now to support research-based journalism]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](