As you know, most of the time on this show, I'm the one asking the questions, but every once

and a while, we flip the script, and today is one of those days. I'm your host, Kwame Christian,

and this is a reverse interview. So I recently did a keynote at the Life and Annuity Conference,

put on jointly by the Society of Actuaries, the ACLI, and Limra Loma, and the audience

submitted so many great questions that we ran out of time on stage. So when I do keynotes,

of course, I do my thing up on stage. I teach on negotiation, conflict resolution, and leadership,

but I always allocate some time at the end for

people to ask questions using an app completely anonymously. So we get really great questions.

And I always tell people, ask the question that comes to mind, the harder, the question, the better.

And in this keynote, we had so many questions that I'm bringing some of the organizers onto the podcast

to ask some of those follow-up questions. So today we have Karen Terry and Joe Wersberger,

and they are going to walk me through the questions that the audience really wanted answered.

Like, what happens when both people are trying to listen more than they talk and why that math breaks down fast?

How to draw out someone who goes completely silent and won't engage?

How to negotiate upward within a company with a senior leader without bruising their ego

and how to manage your own emotions in real time when a tough conversation starts to spiral.

We also answer the question that I hate getting the most, and you will see why.

And it is, which books are you reading?

The answer that you hear will probably shock you.

And with that, let's jump in.

This episode is brought to you by Grinola, Shopify, HomeServe, and What Not.

If you want to stay fully present in every meeting while still walking away with clear

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