Some 40 years ago I asked a workmate what conversation was for. Her reply was that I was “fu*ked”. At the time we laughed, but the question never left me. It stayed with me for decades. After some 32 years, countless conversations about conversation, and hearing many different reasons for having them, I came up with a couple of answers that seemed to resonate.
Addressing Recursive Metacommunication
I think one of the more useful terms I’ve come across recently is "recursive metacommunication". It describes what happens when a discussion shifts from the idea itself to how the idea is being communicated, and then loops there. You’ve probably seen it: One person shares a view. The other reacts to the tone. The first defends their intent. The second frustratingly challenges that defense.
Objective Intelligence OQ with SpatzAI
For a long time I have been searching for what might help me become a little more objective, or at least a little less subjective. What I keep coming back to is this. Objectivity does not just come from better thinking. It also comes from better conditions for thinking together.
Fair Play in the Workplace
Q. How do we get fair play in the workplace? A. By giving team members a standard way to address objectionable behavior in real time.
Object123 