"...he proceeded to shout at me for approximately 30 minutes..." — William Ury
Even though he wrote the book 'Getting to Yes With Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents,' William Ury does not strike you as brusquely overly-confident. He's a man who measures every situation as he arrives in it. He's always friendly and relaxed. He's just there and when you meet him, he inspires confidence.
That sense of presence, that sense of actually listening, made our conversation particularly fun. We spoke at KUSP on a sunny weekday morning, and recorded the interview not in the studio, but in a large conference room with a skylight. There'd a metaphor there that I won't pursue too closely, but in retrospect, it all seemed o appropriate.
Going in, I thought I had a sense of what I was going to talk to him about, a very specific sense and even set of questions. But I found out early I was going to have to change my tack. Not surprisingly, I found myself taking the advice in the book to talk to the author bout the book. it worked like a charm, an I'm still using it in subsequent interviews. When hyou speak to him, as well as when you read his book, you can see why Ury is considered the word's best international negotiator.
He and I did touch on his time with Hugo Chavez. He spins a hell of a story, and in the process his process of negotiation is re-directed inward to the readers of his books. Our conversation stands as a great way into the book and elucidates some of the core concepts for those who have read the book.
03-01-15 UPDATE:Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 198: William Ury 'Getting to Yes With Yourself And Other Worthy Opponents'
Click image for audio link.
Here's the one-hundred ninety-eighth episode of my series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read, or when I warn the writer in advance, the lightning round. This is turning out to be really fun, and especially since I get to take on my game show host persona.
This week, I'm way behind, but who knows what the hell might happen. I am hoping to get back up and stumbling. I have lots of great books in the hopper to review and lots of great interviews to podcast.
My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.
08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]
Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]
07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."
04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."
Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It
