What We Do

We help people listen and be heard in times of profound disagreement.

When people have the vocabulary, guard rails and basic skills to investigate conflict and tell new stories, it changes everything.

Our Clients & Partners

  • "If I could wave a magic wand, I'd make Good Conflict training required in every newsroom."

    — Jennifer Brandel, Co-founder of Hearken, Democracy SOS, Election SOS

  • "Listening and moving beyond assumptions and partisan positioning are necessary skills in the 21st century. The Good Conflict framework and the wisdom of Amanda and Hélène are essential supports."

    — Rosanne Haggerty, President and CEO, Community Solutions

  • “High Conflict should be required reading for everyone in politics and the media—and for anyone who’s had a squabble with a colleague or a blowup at a family gathering.”

    — Adam Grant, Organizational psychologist at Wharton, #1 NYT bestselling author of THINK AGAIN, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

  • "Hélène and Amanda's Good Conflict session was thoughtfully constructed and delivered, engaged our audience of leaders from start to finish, and was rated a participant highlight over our two and a half-day event."

    — Aditi Chakravarty, Chief Culture Officer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • “Hélène brilliantly created a safe, inclusive space for individuals who frequently encounter conflict in serving families together. Her ability to foster open dialogue and help us navigate complex emotions was invaluable. I had a leader at Child Protective Services tell me, ‘This was incredible. I want to figure out a way to train all CPS workers in Good Conflict!’’

    —Dr. Ashley Cross, Executive Director, HOPE585

  • "We worked with Amanda and Hélène in a moment of extremely high conflict in our community, and the world. They helped us separate from the heightened emotion of the moment and shift into a more practical, productive stance—to feel a little more in control. Being reminded by an expert that conflict is something that happens, and will forever happen, was oddly calming."

    —Bavidra Mohan, Director, Acumen Academy

  • "Providing High Conflict book copies to participants ahead of time meant people came ready to engage, ask deeper, thoughtful questions, and apply the ideas in real time. Amanda and Hélène made a compelling case for how these practices can transform journalism, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive."

    —Mallory Newman, Director of Strategic Initiatives and DEIBJ, Director of Dean's Fellows Program, UC Berkeley Journalism

  • Good Conflict’s co-founders regularly speak at conferences and other large gatherings for executives, educators, advocates, and students. Find out more about booking opportunities for Hélène here and Amanda here.

  • Conflict fluency requires practice. In this fast-paced, hands-on workshop, Amanda and Hélène help teams develop the habits and skills of Good Conflict. We use humor, multimedia content, role-play scenarios, and storytelling, and we customize each workshop for the needs of the participants.

    Offered virtually or in-person (though we strongly recommend in-person whenever possible). Useful for all kinds of groups including non-profit organizations, corporate teams, government agencies, educators, elected officials, lawyers, religious leaders, emergency responders and health care professionals.

  • This special version of our Good Conflict workshop is designed specifically for journalists who want to cover conflict in new ways. In this fast-paced, practical workshop, Amanda and Hélène help reporters, editors, and producers develop the skills of Good Conflict journalism, including proven ways to investigate underneath the usual narratives and to rebuild trust with audiences and sources. We use humor, multimedia content, role-play scenarios, and storytelling, and we customize each workshop for the needs of the journalists. Offered virtually or in-person (though we strongly recommend in-person whenever possible).

ENGAGING KEYNOTES & TRAININGS

Request a Workshop

  • The Understory is our community gathering place, where we share regular posts to help us all understand the news and controversies of our time. You can also find deep discounts on our courses, a full library of resources and mini-courses and other special events. Join us today.

  • We share original content about conflict and controversy on a weekly basis on Good Conflict’s social media channels. Our goals with this content are to experiment, learn and educate. You can find us just about everywhere but our main channels include LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Please follow us now and let us know what you’d like to see more (or less) often!

  • The Good Conflict Test Kitchen is where we experiment with new ways of communicating about controversy and conflict. How can we listen more deeply to people we don’t understand–or even like? How can we cover conflict differently as journalists and engage audiences without resorting to outrage and oversimplification?

ORIGINAL CONTENT

Visit Our Test Kitchen

  • We have created high-energy, self-paced courses that equip you to lead, communicate and thrive in today’s volatile climate. Click to learn more about our Breakthrough Course or Intro Course.

  • Reimagining conflict requires new tools, vocabulary and skills. We created these resources to help make Good Conflict more doable and more memorable–for people out in the real world, covering conflict as journalists or trying to navigate conflict as leaders, neighbors, colleagues or voters.

PRACTICAL TOOLS

Explore Tools

  • News outlets

  • Non-profit organizations

  • Corporate teams

  • Government agencies

  • Elected officials

We work with a range of organizations.

  • Educators

  • Lawyers

  • Religious leaders

  • Emergency responders

  • Health care professionals