How we talk to people is so fundamental, we often forget it’s a skill. But it’s essential for leaders, teams, and everyday people. In his “lifechanging” negotiations course, Misha Glouberman draws from Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation to help people communicate more effectively—even when emotions are fraught and stakes are high. Called both a gifted negotiator and natural teacher, Glouberman shows us how to leverage strategic thinking, active listening, and negotiation tactics to resolve conflict and make better decisions—together.
Misha Glouberman is passionate about how people connect with each other—at work, at conferences, in cities, anywhere they meet. As a speaker, facilitator, and designer of participatory events, Glouberman helps groups of people have vital conversations with each other. His classes are a mix of relatable anecdotes, practical lessons, and hands-on, experiential learning that has earned him praise from participants and media alike. Engaging, effective, and surprisingly fun, Glouberman’s work has been described as “humanizing relationships—one event at a time,” (One+) and “reinventing the way stakeholders collaborate with decision-makers” (The Harvard Business Review).
Glouberman’s expertise in negotiations, communications, and putting together participatory events, also make him a highly skilled host and moderator for the virtual age. Beyond the content of his message, which is itself invaluable, Glouberman focuses on encouraging and fortifying audience-to-audience engagement using digital tools and platforms. It’s precisely this hands-on quality that makes every event he leads feel not only fascinating, but completely absorbing. That, and his presence, which is nothing short of transformative. Glouberman has been likened by The Globe and Mail as a mix of “Peter Mansbridge’s smarts and Conan O’Brien’s wit”—a man who can “turn a Q&A session into a surprisingly sincere collaboration.” In everything he does, Glouberman combines a creative people-centered approach (he has a philosophy degree from Harvard) with analytic rigour (he previously worked as a software developer).
Glouberman is also the co-founder and host of the wildly popular Trampoline Hall, a lecture series that has sold out every show in its home city of Toronto since its inception, as well as toured North America. His book The Chairs Are Where the People Go, co-authored with Sheila Heti, is a collection of inventive, philosophical, often humorous essays that was promptly named one of the best non-fiction books of the year by The New Yorker.