That Background Hum of Worry in Every Important Conversation — Here's What It Is and How to Quiet It | Claude M. Steele

Why talking to your boss, your doctor, or anyone with power puts your brain on high alert — and what a Stanford psychologist says to do about it.

Claude M. Steele is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and the author of a new book, Churn: The Tension That Divides Us and How to Overcome It.

In this episode we talk about:

• Why talking across difference is so stressful, even when nobody's being bigoted
• What's actually happening in your brain during an awkward cross-cultural moment
• The surprisingly simple thing that makes critical feedback land or fall flat
• How to reduce tension when you're the one with power (and what to do when you're not)
• A three-part framework for building trust across any divide

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