How to Disagree Better: Julia Minson Redefines Conflict as a Learnable Skill

Julia Minson, a Harvard Kennedy School professor specializing in decision science, has released How to Disagree Better, a research-backed guide that demonstrates why persuasion with bulletproof logic backfires and offers counterintuitive approaches to constructive disagreement that improve decisions and strengthen relationships by fostering receptiveness to opposing views. Drawing on twenty years of behavioral science research, Minson shows that individuals who demonstrate receptiveness are rated as more trustworthy, objective, and likable, and they negotiate better deals and wield greater influence. This challenges assumptions that conflict should be eliminated; instead, it asks how to do conflict better through visible, measurable behaviors. Co-founded with conflict management expert Heather Sulejman, Disagreeing Better LLC translates research into practical training, providing teams with tangible skills for high-stakes conversations without backchanneling or burning trust through empirically proven, scalable systems. This work advances NCDD's mission by offering dialogue practitioners evidence-based insights into why traditional conflict approaches fail, how to create conditions where people feel heard while achieving productive outcomes, and concrete methodologies for treating disagreement as a skill to master rather than a threat to manage.

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Julia Minson, a Harvard Kennedy School professor specializing in decision science, has released How to Disagree Better, a research-backed guide that explains why persuasion backfires and offers counterintuitive approaches to improve decisions and strengthen relationships through constructive disagreement. Drawing on twenty years of behavioral science research examining the psychological processes that lead smart people into downward spirals of conflict, Minson demonstrates that arguing with bulletproof logic and compelling data often causes people to dig in deeper because they believe they're right, making well-crafted arguments both naive and counterproductive when attempting to overcome lifelong convictions. The book, praised by Utah Governor Spencer Cox, author Arthur C. Brooks, organizational psychologist Adam Grant, and High Conflict author Amanda Ripley, offers evidence-based strategies to turn disagreement into opportunities for growth rather than into exhausting cycles of heated debate and frustration.

Minson's research shows that individuals who demonstrate receptiveness to opposing views are rated as more trustworthy, objective, and likable, and they negotiate better deals, cause less drama, and wield greater influence at home, at work, and in communities. Her approach challenges the assumption that conflict should be shut down, instead asking how we can do conflict better by engaging with contradictory perspectives without entering argument mode. Co-founded with Heather Sulejman, a conflict management expert and facilitator, Disagreeing Better LLC translates research into practical training for professionals, grounded in high-quality scientific evidence, with no fluff. The methodology recognizes that teams require more than empathy training—they need tangible behaviors that can be demonstrated, discussed, reflected on, and assessed through a comprehensive playbook that equips organizations for high-stakes, fast-paced conversations.

The Disagreeing Better approach emphasizes that good intentions are not enough when it comes to disagreement—the work of understanding counterparts and engaging with their perspectives must be visible and measurable through trainable skills teams can develop. By treating disagreement as a skill to master rather than a threat to manage, the methodology helps teams turn disagreement into a competitive advantage by navigating conversations without backchanneling, bottlenecks, or eroding trust through scalable, sticky, empirically proven systems. For dialogue and deliberation practitioners, Minson's research offers evidence-based insights into why traditional approaches to conflict often fail and how to create conditions in which people feel heard while moving toward productive outcomes, thereby strengthening both the relational and substantive dimensions of challenging conversations.

To learn more about Julia Minson's work or order How to Disagree Better, visit https://www.disagreeingbetter.com