As a political strategist and messaging expert, I’ve worked with candidates for local, state, and federal office, helping them find the words and the tone to engage effectively and constructively with a wide audience. But it’s not just office-seekers who could use these tools.

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In today’s age of social media-driven alienation, too many of us have lost the ability to understand disagreement on difficult subjects, to appreciate all that we can learn from others’ perspectives, to overcome our divides - be they ideological, generational, or otherwise. We’re left to yell and fight, frustrated when we fail to get through to others, but told repeatedly that being louder and angrier is our only recourse. It’s not.

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I became aware early on of our widening political divisions, raised in deep-blue Massachusetts in a family of Soviet immigrants for whom Big Government was the ultimate evil. I got to see first-hand as members of these camps severed relationships and friendships, yelling that their opponents were crazy. And as much as I was inclined initially to agree, I came to see over time the good that they were all trying to do deep down, and just how pointless the escalating conflict was.

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Now, I work with candidates for federal and state offices to develop powerful messaging that can reach a wide range of audiences, that can do what divisive rhetoric - as enticing as it might be - can't. Last year, I wrote Common Ground from the Ground Up, a guide to rethinking politics in order to become a better advocate of the things you believe. I strive to empower my clients, my readers, and my audiences with the intellectual curiosity, the dynamic frameworks, and the conversational techniques to engage in constructive dialogue with anyone, and to allow their own voices to shine through in the process.