I’m just past the half-way point of writing the draft for the 6th edition of this text and included some interesting information this morning about the dilemma in cross-cultural teams between disagreement and groupthink. I mentioned the French essay-writing method in passing and stopped to double-check my facts. What I was finding was so interesting, I kept digging and found what seems to be a great way to write essays, answer questions in class and even to learn about a topic.  So here we go:

Here is the format for writing an essay: Thesis – Antithesis – Synthesis. This approach is so much part of the culture that it’s also used in business: Present the idea (thesis) – Present any possible objections to it (antithesis) – Sum up your conclusions (synthesis).

The basic idea is to hold your own opinion until after you have stated and explained both sides, one for and one against…