Latest podcast
My latest podcast guest, Joe Smarro —  featured in the Emmy award winning HBO documentary, Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops — taught me something about navigating difficult conversations: It helps to be trained in crisis intervention.

For 15 years Joe was an officer with the San Antonio, Texas police department. The last 11 of those years was with the mental health and crisis intervention unit. His job: de-escalate dangerous confrontations with those suffering from mental health traumas. It’s the kind of confrontation officers face frequently, and that accounts for one in five people killed by the police. Yet in 11 years, Joe never once had to resort to force. His only weapon, he says, was his ability to communicate.

After gaining national attention for his approach to crisis intervention training, Joe left the police force and founded, together with his business partner, Jesse Trevino, Solution Point Plus, where he now delivers his training to law enforcement officers and other first responders around the country.

What got me interested in Joe's work was discovering that the principles underlying his training are exactly what I talk about in my Difficult Conversations book and workshop. I figured he’d have a lot to say about how these principles work in real life, and the positive impact they can have in even the most highly charged situations.

strategies for having more productive dialogues

“Kern Beare is the author of the book, Difficult Conversations, the Art and Science of Working Together. He shares strategies to help us have more productive dialogues and to resolve differences when it matters most. Whether in relationship, work, or political conversations, he discusses the importance of dropping our egos, letting go of feeling like we need to be right all the time, deep listening to truly understand the other, and seeing beyond our own stories.”

“taking a leap of faith”

“An amazing story told by our guest Kern Beare who, in coming to grips with Trump's election, decided he was out of touch with some new, unknown reality in America. In a dramatic leap of faith, he and his son packed up and headed out on a month long road trip across the country. The purpose? To have conversations with people on the opposite end of his political beliefs. Listen in to hear the incredible story of what he discovered and how it resulted in a book and workshop that has touched thousands.”

Learning to live together

A conversation on “Learning to Live Together Via Difficult Conversations.” (Recorded when the project was known as “Pop the Bubble.”)

bridging political Divides

“In this episode, we jump right into the fray with a conversation about how to bridge the political divide when you’re talking with someone who thinks very differently than you do.” (Recorded when the project was known as “Pop the Bubble.”)