Be Quiet, Be Heard
Week of April 12, 2025
Hidden Communication: Why People Hear What We Don’t Say
A world of communication lurks below the surface of our awareness. When we are in conflict, this hidden dimension often catapults us into confusion and mind-bending emotion, thwarting creative resolution and conscious action. Drs. Glaser are former actors as well as award-winning researchers and university professors. They dramatize compelling conflict scenarios to demonstrate what happens when conflict invades our world and how to master seemingly deadlocked moments in challenging business, family, and personal situations.
Power Listening
When interpersonal pressure is on, listening is too often the first casualty. When dialogue turns to criticism, we often revert to unconscious auto-pilot reactions with defensive responses that may damage the relationship and make problems worse. This session provides a five-step model for transforming defensiveness and blame into insight and agreement. Speakers dramatize how trust increases when each person feels heard and understood.
Navigating Challenging Conversations
Why it is that people we care about too often feel defensive when we try to convey suggestions for improving their behavior and our relationship? How can we stop torpedoing our efforts and instead transform conflict into cooperation, discord into harmony, and make good relationships even better? This presentation provides a four-step model for raising issues that renders remarkable results: solving the problem, strengthening the relationship, and deepening trust – without creating a negative reaction.
Peter A. Glaser, Ph.D. and Susan R. Glaser, Ph.D. received their doctorates in Communication from the Pennsylvania State University. Their BreakThrough Communication series won the Gold Award for best hybrid learning of 2022 from the International E-Learning Association. Authors of the internationally acclaimed book, Be Quiet, Be Heard: The Paradox of Persuasion, they have been married business partners and co-presenters for their entire career. Drs. Glaser have published three books and more than 40 research articles. Their research on transforming organizational culture has received the International Association of Business Communication Research Foundation Award for bridging communication theory with practical application. They also received the Pennsylvania State University Outstanding Alumni Award. Feature stories have been written about their work in Business Week, Fast Company, Psychology Today, Newsday, Nation’s Business, National Business Review, Working Woman, Success Magazine, and the Washington Post. The Glasers have served as members of the University of Oregon faculty as well as global consultants working with leaders from Fortune 100 companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Facebook, Tektronix, Hyundai, and Sony Corporation. They have worked with leaders and companies throughout the UK, Canada, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. They also have worked with federal, state, and local government leaders – including their ongoing work with the US Congress.