How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen<\/em><\/a>. Today on the show, David discusses why our culture lost an emphasis on moral formation, and why this loss has led to alienation and anomie. We then talk about the role each of us can play in repairing this fabric by developing concrete social skills, avenues to improve character that, unlike some virtues that are only called upon in a crisis, you can practice every day. David shares insights on how we can get better at giving people attention, asking good questions, and helping those who are going through a hard time. We also discuss how understanding different personality types and life stages can allow us to better understand other people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you’ve wanted to develop your character, you’ve probably thought about strengthening virtues like courage, humility, and resolution. But my guest would say that practicing social skills is another way of increasing your moral strength, and the moral strength of society as a whole. David Brooks is the author of numerous books, including his latest, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,42379,42293],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-179349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","category-social","category-social-skills"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938-372x230.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"\n
Podcast #938: Social Skills as the Road to Character | The Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Podcast #938: Social Skills as the Road to Character | The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you’ve wanted to develop your character, you’ve probably thought about strengthening virtues like courage, humility, and resolution. But my guest would say that practicing social skills is another way of increasing your moral strength, and the moral strength of society as a whole. David Brooks is the author of numerous books, including his latest, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-25T12:59:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-07T17:02:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brett & Kate McKay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brett & Kate McKay\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brett & Kate McKay\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\"},\"headline\":\"Podcast #938: Social Skills as the Road to Character\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-25T12:59:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-07T17:02:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":191,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/938.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Podcast\",\"Social\",\"Social Skills\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2023\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/\",\"name\":\"Podcast #938: Social Skills as the Road to Character | The Art of Manliness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/938.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-25T12:59:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-07T17:02:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/938.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/938.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Podcast #938: Social Skills as the Road to Character\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Art of Manliness\",\"description\":\"Men's Interest and Lifestyle\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\",\"name\":\"Brett & Kate McKay\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Podcast #938: Social Skills as the Road to Character | The Art of Manliness","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Podcast #938: Social Skills as the Road to Character | The Art of Manliness","og_description":"If you’ve wanted to develop your character, you’ve probably thought about strengthening virtues like courage, humility, and resolution. But my guest would say that practicing social skills is another way of increasing your moral strength, and the moral strength of society as a whole. David Brooks is the author of numerous books, including his latest, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/","og_site_name":"The Art of Manliness","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness","article_published_time":"2023-10-25T12:59:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-07T17:02:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Brett & Kate McKay","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@artofmanliness","twitter_site":"@artofmanliness","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brett & Kate McKay","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/"},"author":{"name":"Brett & Kate McKay","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3"},"headline":"Podcast #938: Social Skills as the Road to Character","datePublished":"2023-10-25T12:59:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-07T17:02:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/"},"wordCount":191,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938.png","articleSection":["Podcast","Social","Social Skills"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2023","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/","name":"Podcast #938: Social Skills as the Road to Character | The Art of Manliness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938.png","datePublished":"2023-10-25T12:59:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-07T17:02:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/938.png","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-938-social-skills-as-the-road-to-character\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Podcast #938: Social Skills as the Road to Character"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/","name":"The Art of Manliness","description":"Men's Interest and Lifestyle","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3","name":"Brett & Kate McKay","url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}