Haesun Moon, communication scientist and coach, takes us to what we all want, be it at work or at home. This may sound huge, and maybe quixotic, yet through careful study of over ten thousand hours of conversation, Haesun has found patterns to form a new evidence-based guide to better conversations and so, better lives.

Her work is also exciting for me as it combines both sides of the theme on Flow. That is on the one hand, the power of conversation, in possibilities of healing and helping, but also potentially the problems, as conversation, if we are not careful, can conversely sour relationships and obfuscate goals. In our back and forth what emerges is an understanding that we create ourselves through our stories. From this perspective, she heightens a sensitivity to our words -- as precise choices may allow us to create who we want to become as a whole self, an organization and a society.

However, Haesun has determined that it is not only the words we speak that are important, but also the words we hear. Her approach of “solutions-based dialogue” in fact springs from a simple yet pointed attention to listening, from noticing what someone has already done, to hearing where they may really want to go. Listening thus becomes a key for orienting each other and ourselves to a keener appreciation of our destinations… and of the people in our home and work environments who “talk” us there.

Faculty at Harvard`s Institute of Coaching (McLean Hospital Affiliate, Harvard Medical School), and at the University of Toronto, Haesun also serves as Executive Director at the Canadian Centre for Brief Coaching. Her latest book is a gift of her learning, Coaching A-Z: the extraordinary use of ordinary words (2022), https://www.coachingatoz.com/

Haesun Moon recommends... On Dialogue (1990) by David Bohm.

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