On an interpersonal level, do you communicate in a positive or negative manner? Do you unknowingly project power or weakness, impatience or encouragement? Are your words edgy or empathetic?

In this episode, we speak with Professor Philip Glenn about his research into the field of positive communication. He explains the movement towards non-violent communication and teaches us what role humor, laughter, and levity can play in developing interpersonal connections.

So let’s get serious about laughter, as we learn more about the world of positive communications.

ABOUT OUR GUEST...Professor of Communication Studies Phillip Glenn teaches Conflict and Negotiation, Positive Communication, and Professional Communication. He conducts scholarly research analyzing interaction, especially conflict, negotiation, and mediation; employment interviews; and laughter in everyday talk.

Glenn's recent book is the co-edited Studies of Laughter in Interaction (Bloomsbury, 2013). He serves on the editorial board of Research on Language and Social Interaction. He has advanced training in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and in conflict coaching from the Boss Whispering Institute.

He is a volunteer mediator and trainer with Metropolitan Mediation Services in Brookline. Glenn served as Interim Dean of the School of Communication from 2012 to 2016 and served multiple terms as a department chair. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Program on Negotiation in 2008 and held Fulbright Scholar appointments in the Czech Republic (1995) and the Republic of Moldova (2005).