Practicing Mindfulness, Tolerance, and Well-being via Conscious Conversations

Podcast 226

Deeply understanding our patterns of thinking not only helps us have more open and honest conversations with others, but it can help us relieve stress. Today’s guest, Chuck Wisner, speaks about his book, The Art of Conscious Conversations: Transforming How We Talk, Listen, and Interact.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What inspired Chuck to write his book
• The four conversation types and how they are related
• How we process and think of the inputs we get and the messy world of opinions
• Modeling self reflection by honestly revealing your opinion
• Private conversations with yourself versus public conversations with others

Chuck Wisner is a highly sought-after thinker, coach, and teacher in the areas of organizational strategy, human dynamics, and leadership communication excellence. He has spent twenty-five years as a business and personal consultant and a trusted advisor to leaders in high-profile companies across industries. His methods are anchored in years of leading-edge research, theoretical development, and the practical application of the foundations of conversations.

Chuck earned an architectural degree from the Boston Architectural College and worked as a successful architect in the Boston area for twenty years. Inspired by life circumstances, Chuck changed careers mid-life and was among the first to be certified in a Mastering the Art of Professional Coaching program with the Newfield Network, one of the world’s leading transformational education organizations over the past thirty years. Subsequently, he was a senior affiliated mediator with the Harvard Law Mediation Program and a specialist in organizational learning and transformational leadership associated with MIT’s Center for Organizational Learning.

Chuck is currently working as an advisor with leaders and their teams at Google, Ford, DTE Energy, and Tesla (all Fortune 200 companies). His client list has included PSEG, Harvard Business School, Toyota, the Detroit Mayor’s Office, General Motors, Shell, and Chrysler Motor Company.

Chuck lives in New England with his wife, Kata, an artist. They have two sons, who are living their creative dreams in New York City.

Memorable Quotes

• “That storytelling piece is so critical for ourselves as individuals and so critical for our society and culture.”
• “That emotion is just a reflection of our internal thinking.”
• “There’s a distinction between what we say outloud and what’s going on internally.”
• “The bigger the gap between our private conversation and our public conversation, the more stress we live in.”