About the book: 2017 / One of the reasons for the failure of democratic reforms in Russia is the lack of public speaking skills, which the editors This book has been called the “public muteness syndrome.” We know how to speak either in an official manner, when the outcome of communication is predetermined in advance, or in a private manner, when the goal of the dispute becomes the dispute itself. We get lost when we have to convince, argue, give in, and look for a common position. What historical, social or psychological reasons lie behind our inability to reconcile different points of view argumentatively? Why do we have such a hard time making compromises? Why does every public dispute quickly turn into a scandal and squabble? This book explores the question posed from different methodological positions, from a historical, sociological, and sociolinguistic perspective. Leading experts from different countries - Russia, Great Britain, France, Israel - have united under one cover, offering both descriptions of various examples of “public muteness” and methods for overcoming it.