We’ve all been in those conversations — tense, loaded, and fragile. Maybe it’s with a friend, a relative, a stranger in a meeting, or someone online. The topic is real: safety, addiction, fairness, accountability. Something that matters. But instead of clarity, the conversation derails. We stop engaging with what the other person actually said and start reacting to what we think they meant. We’re no longer responding to a real argument — we’re swinging at something we’ve imag