Let’s start with your book, The Conversation. How is it that conversation—something so seemingly simple that we do all the time—can be such an important part of addressing such a serious and complex topic?
Humans are not very good computers — we don’t just process data and information. People relate to people, and there are a lot of studies that show you can give people all the data in the world, but social relationships serve as the portal for facts to enter. People learn most of what they know about the world through relationships with other people, whether it’s primary caregivers, friends, peers or our social network. And conversation is one of the fundamental ways for people to connect; social change won’t happen without social exchange.
Having said that, I don’t see conversation as a panacea. I believe this requires a three-stage process: 80 per cent education, 15 per cent conversation and five per cent action. A rookie mistake that a lot of organizations make is wanting to jump straight to a solution without going through this process of education and conversation. once famously
