Learning Perspective-Taking in Conversation
I know that for some of you this might sound a bit strange—perhaps even controversial. Personally, I try to consume news media from the opposite side of the current political administration. For example, during the presidency of Joe Biden, I regularly followed Fox News and the New York Post . Now, with Donald Trump in office, I check CNN and The New York Times . The idea is simple: if you regularly expose yourself to perspectives you don’t typically share, it doesn’t mean you have to adopt those views. But it does make it easier to understand—and sometimes empathize with—people who hold different opinions. What does this have to do with the workplace? Quite a lot. Many of our colleagues and clients come from different political, cultural, or religious backgrounds. But the same principle also applies professionally. If you work in one field, you might deliberately read publications intended for professionals in a different area—for example, from another department in your comp...