Kwame Christian: On Compassionate Curiosity, Social Justice Conversations, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Kwame Christian, Esq. is the author of “Nobody Will Play With Me: How to Use Compassionate Curiosity to Find Confidence in Conflict.” He is the host of two podcasts, “Negotiate Anything” and “Ask With Confidence.” He is a professor at The Ohio State University Law School and is the director of the American Negotiation Institute. Kwame’s educational background combines an undergraduate degree in psychology, a master’s in public policy, and a juris doctor. Yup – a classic underachiever. (NOT)

Kurt and Tim got to talk to Kwame about the behavioral science hidden in his practical techniques. For instance, we discussed how to be more effective in negotiations by managing our emotions and how to reframe our negotiations as opportunities. He went on to say that negotiations are really “the art of discovery.” We also discussed the decades-old myth of the win-win negotiation – you guessed right: it’s a myth!

Kwame also dropped more sound-bite bombs in our conversation than any other guest. There are tons and tons of takeaways from this conversation that you can put to use in your work or home life right away.

And if that’s not enough, he’s got the most eclectic musical tastes of any guest on Behavioral Grooves so far. Check it out.

We are grateful to our friend Brian Ahearn who introduced us to Kwame in May 2020.