Resources

Disagreeing Well Skills Video Series

UCL’s Disagreeing Well Skills Series is written and hosted by Mia Forbes Pirie, international conflict mediator, coach and UCL alumna. This series will cover what it means to disagree well, including useful tips and advice to help you learn. 

To stay up to date on the UCL Disagreeing Well campaign, sign up to our newsletter.   

And subscribe to the UCL YouTube channel to catch future episodes.

About Mia Forbes Pirie

Mia Forbes Pirie (LLB Law with French Law 1998) is one of the UK's leading international mediators and winner of the UK Independent Mediator of the Year 2022 Corporate International Award.

Her work ranges from dealing with personal matters like divorce and neighbour complaints to mediating on a global scale for G7 countries, the Government of Mongolia, the EU, the Church of England and Members of Parliament. She has advised the US Department of Energy on using facilitated negotiation to develop legislation, enabling them to reach peaceful solutions and positive transformation.

The subject matters she has dealt with include space, chemicals, oil and gas, sustainability, refugees, same-sex marriage, race, competition law and property law.

Described as “a quiet storm”, Mia is trilingual, holds both a Masters of Law and Science, has spoken at Chatham House on Conflict Resolution and hosted the European Union Commission's Business Awards for the Environment.

Find out more about Mia

Additional Resources

The list below offers a comprehensive exploration of the art of disagreeing well, providing insights from various perspectives and mediums. Whether you prefer books, lectures, TED Talks, or podcasts, these resources aim to guide you in fostering constructive conversations and finding common ground in the face of disagreement.  

Books

• “This is not America: Why Black Lives in Britain Matter”, Tomiwa Owolade, Publisher: Atlantic Books, 2023.  
•  “What do you Think?  How to agree to disagree and still be friends” Matthew Syed,  Publisher: Wren & Rook, 2022. 
• "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion" by Jonathan Haidt 
• "Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most" by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen 
• "The Art of Thinking Clearly" by Rolf Dobelli 
• "Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High" by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler 
• “How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide” by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay 
• "How to Disagree. Negotiate Difference in a divided world." by Adam Ferner and Darren Chetty.  Publisher: Quarto Publishing Plc, 2019.
• "Mere Civility: Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration" by Teresa Bejan. Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2017
• "How to Argue with a racist" by Adam Rutherford.  Publisher: Orion Publishing Co, 2021

Lectures

• "Freedom of Speech: The Four Freedoms", BBC Radio 4 Reith Lectures 2022, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 
• "Our Democratic Future", BBC Radio 4 Reith Lectures 2023, Ben Ansell
• "The Power of Vulnerability" by Brené Brown (TED Talk) 
• "How to Have Better Political Conversations" by Robb Willer (TEDxStanford) 
• "The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives" by Jonathan Haidt (TED Talk) 
•  "Dare to Disagree" by Margaret Heffernan 
• "Can a Divided America Heal?" by Jonathan Haid 
• "The Surprising Science of Happiness" by Dan Gilbert

Podcasts

• "On Being with Krista Tippett" - Episode: "How to Love a Country" with José Olivarez 
• “How to Talk To People” series, The Atlantic  
• "The Art of Charm" - Episode: "How to Disagree" with Julia Dhar 
• "Making Sense” series, Sam Harris  
• "Disagree Better" series, Tammi Lenski
• "How to Disagree: Lessons on Productive Conflict at Work and Home" audiobook, Ian Leslie
• "Mediation Matters" series, Adam Gersch

Articles and Online Resources

• "How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable" by Guy Harris (Harvard Business Review) 
• “How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable” by Jared Henricksen, University of Utah 
• “The secret to good decision-making: the art of disagreeing gracefully”, Positive Momentum, Julian March 
• "The role of the University in Public Debate" by Dr Michael Spence, UCL (Check Chapter 9, page 113)
• "Taking offense: An emotion reconsidered" by Emily McTernan, UCL
• "Social media algorithms amplify misogynistic content to teens" by Chris Lane, UCL
• "Safer Scrolling: How algorithms popularise and gamify online hate and misogyny for young people" by Principal Investigator: Dr Kaitlyn Regehr, Co-Investigator: Professor Nicola Shaughnessy

Teaching Toolkits

• Guide to facilitating constructive discourse 

Other resources

• Students' Union UCL on Disagreeing Well: The Students’ Union UCL Impartial Chairs programme aims to develop students’ key skills in debate and respectful disagreement. Watch Impartial Chair Conor Walsh interview representatives from the SU and UCL on Disagreeing Well. Full video and article here
• Digital Speech Lab: UCL researchers studying how to improve the digital public sphere
• 'Beyond Borders' interview, SI-UK India: UCL historian Dr Michael Collins talking all things India, and the need to "Disagree Well"