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- Faculty Publications (263)
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- All HBS Web (455)
- Faculty Publications (263)
- 15 Mar 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Backhanded Compliments: How Negative Comparisons Undermine Flattery
- 2025
- Book
Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves
We all struggle with difficult conversations, but we're often not very good at easy ones either. Though we do it all the time, conversation is one of the most complex, demanding, and delicate of all human tasks, rife with possibilities for misinterpretation and... View Details
Keywords: Interpersonal Communication
Brooks, Alison Wood. Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves. Crown, 2025.
- September 20, 2019
- Editorial
Why Asking for Advice Is More Effective Than Asking for Feedback
By: Jaewon Yoon, Hayley Blunden, Ariella S. Kristal and A.V. Whillans
Conventional wisdom says you should ask your colleagues for feedback. However, research suggests that feedback often has no (or even a negative) impact on our performance. This is because the feedback we receive is often too vague—it fails to highlight what we can... View Details
Keywords: Feedback; Advice; Advice Seeking; Feedback Culture; Advice Taking; Interpersonal Communication
Yoon, Jaewon, Hayley Blunden, Ariella S. Kristal, and A.V. Whillans. "Why Asking for Advice Is More Effective Than Asking for Feedback." Harvard Business Review (website) (September 20, 2019).
- June 1979
- Background Note
Developing Skill in Listening
By: Arthur N. Turner
Keywords: Interpersonal Communication
Turner, Arthur N. "Developing Skill in Listening." Harvard Business School Background Note 479-033, June 1979.
- August 1972 (Revised September 1976)
- Background Note
Understanding Another Person, Part II: Some Aspects of Self-Concept
By: Anthony Athos and John J. Gabarro
Keywords: Interpersonal Communication
Athos, Anthony, and John J. Gabarro. "Understanding Another Person, Part II: Some Aspects of Self-Concept." Harvard Business School Background Note 473-008, August 1972. (Revised September 1976.)
- 1981
- Chapter
Explanation and Social Interaction: Some Dialogues on Dialogue
By: R. F. Kidd and T. M. Amabile
- 16 Feb 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Information Avoidance and Image Concerns
- May 2000
- Supplement
Old Colony Associates
By: Linda A. Hill
Presents performance management interviews between James Cranfield and Eugene Kearney of Old Colony Associates. View Details
Hill, Linda A. "Old Colony Associates." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 400-507, May 2000.
- 1991
- Chapter
With Open Ears: Listening and the Art of Discussion Learning
Leonard, Herman B. "With Open Ears: Listening and the Art of Discussion Learning." In Education for Judgment: The Artistry of Discussion Leadership, edited by C. R. Christensen, David A. Garvin, and A. Sweet. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1991.
- Article
Why ‘Tell Them Something They Don't Know’ Is Bad Advice in B2B Sales
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Tracy DeCicco
Common advice in sales is to provide insights to customers during sales calls. But this advice generally stays at the level of “tell people something they don’t already know” and results in sales conversations littered with many irrelevant factoids. This article... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V., and Tracy DeCicco. "Why ‘Tell Them Something They Don't Know’ Is Bad Advice in B2B Sales." Harvard Business Review (website) (August 19, 2019).
- February 2020
- Article
The Many Minds Problem: Disclosure in Dyadic vs. Group Conversation
By: Gus Cooney, Adam M. Mastroianni, Nicole Abi-Esber and Alison Wood Brooks
What causes people to disclose their preferences or withhold them? Declare their love for each other or keep it a secret? Gossip with a coworker or bite one’s tongue? We argue that to understand disclosure, we need to understand a critical and often overlooked aspect... View Details
Cooney, Gus, Adam M. Mastroianni, Nicole Abi-Esber, and Alison Wood Brooks. "The Many Minds Problem: Disclosure in Dyadic vs. Group Conversation." Special Issue on Privacy and Disclosure, Online and in Social Interactions edited by L. John, D. Tamir, M. Slepian. Current Opinion in Psychology 31 (February 2020): 22–27.
- November 2019
- Case
The Boss Has the Wrong Idea: Confidential Role Material for Lee Clancy
By: Katherine Coffman, Kathleen McGinn, Judith A. Clair and Katherine Chen
“The Boss Has the Wrong Idea” is a two-person conversation exercise in which an MBA student seeks advice from a mentor in her field about how to handle an incident of workplace sexual harassment. The case consists of two confidential role materials: a role for the... View Details
Coffman, Katherine, Kathleen McGinn, Judith A. Clair, and Katherine Chen. "The Boss Has the Wrong Idea: Confidential Role Material for Lee Clancy." Harvard Business School Case 920-024, November 2019.
- November 2019
- Case
The Boss Has the Wrong Idea: Confidential Role Material for Julia Smith
By: Katherine Coffman, Kathleen McGinn, Judith A. Clair and Katherine Chen
“The Boss Has the Wrong Idea” is a two-person conversation exercise in which an MBA student seeks advice from a mentor in her field about how to handle an incident of workplace sexual harassment. The case consists of two confidential role materials: a role for the... View Details
Coffman, Katherine, Kathleen McGinn, Judith A. Clair, and Katherine Chen. "The Boss Has the Wrong Idea: Confidential Role Material for Julia Smith." Harvard Business School Case 920-023, November 2019.
- December 2022
- Article
Kindness in Short Supply: Evidence for Inadequate Prosocial Input
By: Jennifer E. Abel, Preeti Vani, Nicole Abi-Esber, Hayley Blunden and Juliana Schroeder
In everyday life, people often have opportunities to improve others’ lives, whether offering well-intentioned advice or complimenting someone on a job well done. These are opportunities to provide “prosocial input” (information intended to benefit others), including... View Details
Abel, Jennifer E., Preeti Vani, Nicole Abi-Esber, Hayley Blunden, and Juliana Schroeder. "Kindness in Short Supply: Evidence for Inadequate Prosocial Input." Art. 101458. Current Opinion in Psychology 48 (December 2022).
- 17 Nov 2008
- Research & Ideas
Decoding the Artful Sidestep
We heard question-dodging in the U.S. presidential debates not long ago. And everyone hears it in normal political discourse, in business meetings, and in typical daily life—but are people really listening? Sometimes, it seems, individuals who are asked a difficult... View Details
Keywords: by Martha Lagace
- 11 Apr 2018
- Research & Ideas
Sexual Harassment: What Employers Should Do Now
reviews, should never be conducted by one person alone. “Think about it. Every major corporation does not have the CEO interviewed alone. There’s always a corporate communications person and others in the room,” she says. “How hard would... View Details
Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman
- 18 Feb 2021
- Interview
Amy Edmondson: Are You Missing One of Your Most Important Jobs as a Manager?
By: Amy C. Edmondson and Chris Clearfield
During our conversation, we talked about:
• The renewed interest in the concept of psychological safety
• J.D. Thompson’s notion of “reciprocal coordination needs”
• How knowledge work does not produce objective or mechanical... View Details
• The renewed interest in the concept of psychological safety
• J.D. Thompson’s notion of “reciprocal coordination needs”
• How knowledge work does not produce objective or mechanical... View Details
"Amy Edmondson: Are You Missing One of Your Most Important Jobs as a Manager?" Episode 18. The Breakdown with Chris Clearfield (podcast), February 18, 2021.
- April 16, 2019
- Article
Research Confirms: When Receiving Bad News, We Shoot the Messenger
By: Leslie John, Hayley Blunden and Heidi Liu
Most jobs require us at some point to deliver bad news—whether it be a minor revelation such as a recruiter telling a prospective employee that there’s no wiggle room in salary, or something major, like when a manager must fire an employee. We dread such discussions... View Details
John, Leslie, Hayley Blunden, and Heidi Liu. "Research Confirms: When Receiving Bad News, We Shoot the Messenger." Harvard Business Review (website) (April 16, 2019).
- 03 Nov 2022
- Op-Ed
Feeling Separation Anxiety at Your Startup? 5 Tips to Soothe These Growing Pains
You’re the founder of a growing startup and it seems like just yesterday that you were a team of five, sharing a co-working space with one table and five chairs. There was an open flow of communication in the room and unless someone’s... View Details
Keywords: by Julia Austin