Stories Lived. Stories Told.

Abbie VanMeter and The CMM Institute

The purpose of Coordinated Management of Meaning is to create better social worlds through better communication. This podcast is about empowering all of us in our communication to see ourselves as curious and active participants with the ability to create meaningful change in our relationships and social worlds. Our practice of CMM is about embodying a “communication perspective,” which asks us to “look at communication, rather than through it.” To take a communication perspective is to consider what we’re making and how we’re making it through our communication practices. This means we look at patterns, contexts, stories, and relationships; and that we use curiosity, mindfulness, collaboration, and dialogue to create better social worlds for ourselves. So, join us as we take CMM from theory to practice, engage in collective learning together, and apply a communication perspective to make meaning in our conversations.

  1. 5d ago

    On Play, Improvisation, and Performance with Cathy Salit and Sarah Filman | Ep. 169

    What does it mean to perform "the person you are" as well as "the person you are not"? ... Today, Abbie, Cathy, and Sarah discuss the difference between play, improvisation, and performance and the role that each can have in our personal and collective growth. ... Cathy Rose Salit is an executive coach, improviser, jazz vocalist, and play activist. She founded The Global Play Brigade, an online community across 100 countries providing free workshops, technical and network support to grassroots activists utilizing play and performance. As founder/CEO Emerita of the leadership consultancy Performance of a Lifetime, she led the growth of the company for over 23 years, working with thousands of leaders and teams in top brand companies. Cathy is the author of Performance Breakthrough: A Radical Approach to Success at Work, and her work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and the Wall Street Journal. She’s been active as a grassroots organizer since she was a teenager; building alternative schools, social therapy centers, independent political campaigns, the East Side Institute and Performing the World and the Applied Improv Network. Cathy lives in St. James, NY and performs at venues including The Jazz Loft and Science Plays Festivals and Madiran The Wine Bar. Sarah Filman (she/they) is a leadership coach, facilitator, and improviser who uses play as a catalyst for human development. As founder of Playful Perspectives and volunteer with Global Play Brigade, Sarah designs experiences where leaders reconnect with possibility, teams navigate conflict with curiosity, and strangers across continents discover what emerges when they yes-and each other. Drawing on nearly two decades of leadership experience in tech and education (Code.org, Microsoft), Sarah brings strategic thinking and a playful spirit to supporting growth at individual, team, and community levels. Their "Soft Skills for Hard Conversations" workshop series was funded by Boston's Office of Arts and Culture.  ... Take the SLST Survey and give feedback on the Podcast here. ... Learn about the CMM Conference here. ... Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter. Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution. ... Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann. ... ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Explore all things CMM Institute here.

  2. Jul 22

    On Liberating Structures with Keith McCandless | Ep. 165

    What is the 'minimal structure' needed to find  or create liberation? ... Today, Abbie and Keith discuss Liberating Structures, including where they come from and what is next. They talk about seemingly contradictory ideas like "strategic emergence," idealized design, and complexity science.  ... Keith McCandless is co-developer of Liberating Structures and co-author of the book The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures – Simple Rules to Unleash a Culture of Innovation (2014) and The Liberating Structures Fieldbook: Flipping the Script on Meetings, Planning, and Progress. Keith operates a global consulting practice focused on strategy development, creative adaptability, and including all voices in shaping next steps. He calls himself a structured improvisationalist.  Born in Cincinnati Ohio, he holds a Masters in Management from Brandeis University in Boston and a BA from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Keith lives in Seattle with his wife, Anne, and Bootsy, a whippet with talent to amuse.  ... Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter. Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution. ... Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann. ... CMM Institute Substack CMM Institute Events Page CMM Conference Interest Form … ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Explore all things CMM Institute here.

  3. Jul 8

    On Collaborative Hardball as a New Negotiation with Susan Coleman | Ep. 164

    There is nothing you can say with harshness that loving kindness can't do better.  ... Today, Abbie and Susan unpack Susan's new book, Collaborative Hardball: Using the Power of a New Negotiation as Women to Change the World, and chat about the impact of a patriarchal world culture, negotiating at the level of rights and rules versus the level of needs and interests, and what a "new negotiation" looks like for women and everyone. ... For over thirty-five years, Susan Coleman has worked from war zones to boardrooms teaching people negotiation skills, mediating conflict, and supporting clients in collaborative change initiatives through facilitation and coaching. She has worked with tens of thousands of people in thirty-four countries, on just about every continent, and with hundreds of organizations, governments, teams, and individuals including the United Nations, NASA, Senior Women Leaders of the Government of Afghanistan, and Columbia University.   Her initiative with the UN ultimately resulted in over 100,000 professionals being trained in collaborative, intercultural negotiation, one of the larger peacebuilding initiatives on the planet. She started her professional journey as a litigator in New York City but detoured to the negotiation and conflict resolution field after attending the Kennedy School at Harvard. Coleman was born into one of the oldest colonial American families, where she has had a front row seat to the ironies of privilege, power, and patriarchy. Throughout her life, she has been an activist for evolutionary social change with a deep respect for both the diversity of humans and the natural world.  ... Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter. Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution. ... Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann. ... CMM Institute Substack CMM Institute Events Page CMM Conference Interest Form … ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Explore all things CMM Institute here.

  4. Jun 24

    On the Art of Positive Communication with Julien Mirivel | Ep. 163

    What small changes can you make in your everyday communicating that might create a big difference in your relationships?  ... Today, Abbie and Julien explore the art, practices, and concepts behind positive communication, including the ways in which positive, generative styles of communicating can be the antidote to our hurting relationships and social worlds.  ... Originally from Paris, France, Julien Mirivel traveled to the US in 1994 as a 15-year-old exchange student to learn English in Iowa. He returned in 1995 and formally graduated high school in 1996. The following academic year, he joined the University of Northern Iowa where he graduated in 2000 with a BA in Communication Studies.  Following his degree, he has spent his entire adult life teaching and researching the nature of effective and ethical communication. Julien earned an MA in Communication Studies in 2002 and a PhD in Communication in 2005 – both degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  In 2005, Julien took his first job as an Assistant Professor of Applied Communication at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock -- where he has worked for the last 21 years. During this time, he has moved through numerous roles and ranks ultimately earning the rank of full professor with tenure and serving along the way as Director of the Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence, as Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice, Associate Dean, and as Dean of the College of Social Sciences & Communication for three years.  He is the co-founder of the Positive Communication Network, as well as the author of two books on positive communication published by Peter Lang: The Art of Positive Communication: Theory and Practice and How Communication Scholars Think and Act: A Lifespan Perspective.  ... Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter. Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution. ... Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann. ... CMM Institute Substack CMM Institute Events Page CMM Conference Interest Form … ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Explore all things CMM Institute here.

  5. Jun 10

    On Podcasting as a Research Method with Simone Eringfeld | Ep. 162

    What does podcasting offer us? ... Today, Abbie and Simone podcast about podcasting! Inspired by Simone's recently published book- Podcasting as a Research Method- this conversation explores both Abbie and Simone's experiences with podcasting, what they have learned along the way, and why this medium has their hearts. ... Simone Eringfeld is a researcher, polar guide, writer, and podcaster who prefers to maximize her time spent with penguins. She is a PhD researcher in Polar Studies at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, where she studies Antarctica’s changing soundscapes and approach listening as an embodied and epistemological practice. Her work draws on field experience in the Arctic and Antarctica, where I’ve contributed to expedition and science teams as a polar guide and field recordist. She is the author of Podcasting as a Research Method, a book that rethinks podcasting not just as a tool for science communication, but as a site of inquiry — where knowledge emerges through dialogue, voice, and relational engagement. Across my research, I’m particularly interested in creative methodologies, including sound-based approaches. Her background is interdisciplinary by design. I hold a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Cambridge, where I produced award-winning research on the impact of COVID-19 on higher education. Before that, I completed three full-time Bachelor’s degrees simultaneously (Philosophy, Literary & Cultural Studies, and International Relations). Alongside academia, she is the founder of The Smart Rebel, where I coach gifted, neurodivergent individuals and entrepreneurs to translate their intensity and complexity into meaningful, sustainable work. ... Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter. Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution. ... Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann. ... CMM Institute Substack CMM Institute Events Page … ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Explore all things CMM Institute here.

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

The purpose of Coordinated Management of Meaning is to create better social worlds through better communication. This podcast is about empowering all of us in our communication to see ourselves as curious and active participants with the ability to create meaningful change in our relationships and social worlds. Our practice of CMM is about embodying a “communication perspective,” which asks us to “look at communication, rather than through it.” To take a communication perspective is to consider what we’re making and how we’re making it through our communication practices. This means we look at patterns, contexts, stories, and relationships; and that we use curiosity, mindfulness, collaboration, and dialogue to create better social worlds for ourselves. So, join us as we take CMM from theory to practice, engage in collective learning together, and apply a communication perspective to make meaning in our conversations.

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