DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS

the podcast

bREAKING THE PATTERNS OF HIGH CONFLICT: A conversation WITH AMANDA RIPLEY.

Show Notes

Amanda Ripley is an investigative journalist and a New York Times bestselling author. Her most recent book, and the subject of our conversation, is High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out.  As a journalist, Amanda knows how to tell a story, making her book as engaging as it is informative. And it's very informative. So too is this interview, where we take a deep dive into some of her book's main ideas, including:

  • Why high conflicts are a lot like the La Brea Tar Pits.

  • The four "trip wires" that lead to high conflict, including "the power of the binary."

  • Why often the best thing you can do in a conflict is first "get straight in your own head."

  • How finding the "understory" of a conflict can be a source of liberation.

  • How to creatively break the patterns of high conflict by "stepping out of the dance."

  • What it means and why it's important to appeal to a "transcendent identity."

  • And much more (my favorite: Amanda's "food in the fridge" conflict).