The First Sentence That Starts the Conversation

Kerry Patterson and colleagues define a crucial conversation by three colliding forces: high stakes, differing opinions, and strong emotions. Yet the real obstacle isn't the topic itself; it's the identity story you carry to the table. Amy Edmondson's hospital research revealed that better teams didn't make fewer medication errors, they simply reported them, a finding Google's Project Aristotle later placed at the core of effective teams. The MUM effect, named by Rosen and Tesser, explains why we protect ourselves by staying silent.

You'll learn:

- Why silence accrues interest you pay alone

- How psychological safety predicts learning, not competence

- The two-sentence shield that delays defensive spirals