Jessica Chastain at the Berlin Film Festival.
Oscar-winning actress Jessica Chastain, known for her roles in Zero Dark Thirty, Interstellar and The Help, has decided to add a master's degree at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government to her already impressive résumé.
Though she has a prestigious degree from The Julliard School, Chastain explains in an interview with E! News, "I just like to be challenged and learn and exercise my brain in a new way."
Classes that have really stood out to her include "statistics" and "negotiation." Of the latter, she shares, "The thing I love most about negotiation—we had a class about resolving conflict. And right now we're at a time when it feels like no one is talking to each other. There's so much division."
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What she has learned from the class has been so applicable in today's times. "If you start from a place of agreement, no matter who you are, there's one thing that each party agrees on, right?" she says. "If we can start from there and give each other the benefit of the doubt that each side, each person, wants positivity for humanity."
She further explains that finding commonality helps people feel empathy. "If you give each other the benefit of the doubt and start with what you have in common, I think that's the only way we can get out of this mess we're in," she says.
Harvard's Katie Shonk writes about the importance of these skills. As part of the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation, she writes in "The Top 10 Negotiating Skills You Must Learn to Succeed" that "the most effective bargainers are skilled at both creating value and claiming value—that is, they both collaborate and compete."
One tactic is to "build rapport," which echoes Chastain's views on finding something in common with whomever you're speaking with. Shonk shares, "You and your counterpart may be more collaborative and likely to reach an agreement if you spend even just a few minutes trying to get to know each other."
A GIF from Surprised Seasons Giphy PBS
Another is "active listening." Again, this is recognizing the humanity in the other party, which can lead to compassion and positivity.
"Once you start discussing substance, resist the common urge to think about what you’re going to say next while your counterpart is talking," Shonk writes. "Instead, listen carefully to her arguments, then paraphrase what you believe she said to check your understanding. Acknowledge any difficult feelings, like frustration, behind the message. Not only are you likely to acquire valuable information, but the other party may mimic your exemplary listening skills."
In Psychology Today's "The Advantages of Open-Minded Negotiation," Kimberly Key writes, "Research shows that having an open mindset and facilitating trust while embracing genuine interest in the other person’s point of view works best. For instance, an open mindset results in listening and increased empathy, which, in turn, help to bring a person’s defensive wall down. When trust is established, muscles relax, and people can be engaged and more present with each other."
-Biggest predictor of how well a negotiation will go. www.youtube.com, Harvard Business Review
Negotiating, as is often traditionally thought of, is not a war. "The negotiation-as-a-fight mentality gets reinforced through cultural conditioning and biased training," Key writes.
Instead, as Chastain also eloquently suggests, come from a place of kindly relating to the other person.
"Positively relating to someone—even just an exchanged smile with a stranger—has been shown to decrease stress chemicals while increasing feel-good neurochemicals and immune factors," Key writes.