Nancy Hernandez

When I was a business manager, my boss bluntly told me one day that I took too long when interviewing some individuals — and sometimes that was a good thing. I got insights about the interviewees’ views on other topics.

He told me that, when I finished writing the story I was assigned, I should write notes about their answers to questions I asked that were not directly related to the story. Then in future stories, I might see where one of those interviewees had an unexpected yet relevant...

Have you noticed that when someone is acting like a jerk, you are likely to point out that behavior to her by your words or tone of voice?

And then she goes out of her way to prove it to you some more? Why? Because our biggest gut instinct is for survival. That primitive, instinctual reaction causes us to escalate in situations in which we are unhappy, or to withdraw and complain to others.

More negotiations break down over ego differences than over content differences.

Ironically, the...