Click here to eCommenting on how to heal the deep divisions in American society, as well as the trend for conspiracy theories to become mainstream,  ex-President Barack Obama said, 'I think at some point it's going to require a combination of regulation and standards within industries to get us back to the point where we at least recognise a common set of facts before we start arguing about what we should do about those facts.'

This comment is at the heart of the model I discuss in my book 'Help! I need to master Critical Conversations.'  I point out that it is important to start a conversation by sharing objective facts, without at that point sharing what you THINK about those facts. Thoughts are based on analysis and conclusions, or judgements about the facts, and can only be safely shared once there is an agreement that 'my facts' are also 'your facts'. 

My opinion is that Obama endorsed the message that runs through my book, but the fact is he did no such thing. The fact is he made his own statement about the situation and I would have to find out from him if he in fact endorsed the message in my book.

Mistruths and miscommunication arise from confusing facts with opinions. 

What do you think? Would our communication with each other improve if we separated fact from opinion?dit.