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Crucial Conversations
Book

Crucial Conversations

Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High

McGraw-Hill, 2021
First Edition: 2002 ΠΏΠΎΠ΄Ρ€ΠΎΠ±Π½Π΅Π΅...

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Editorial Rating

8

getAbstract Rating

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

If you struggle to manage difficult conversations, don’t despair: Anyone can learn to improve their communication skills and achieve better outcomes, say Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory. Their essential guidebook to navigating high-stakes, emotionally-charged interactions balances illustrative anecdotes with practical information. Learn how to handle what the authors call β€œCrucial Conversations” with grace, and develop the skills you need to cultivate meaningful dialogue and foster stronger relationships.

Summary

Deftly handling β€œCrucial Conversations” is a critical professional and life skill.

A β€œCrucial Conversation” isn’t simply a thorny dialogue; it’s a high-stakes discussion rife with diverging opinions and intense emotions that can significantly influence your relationship with your counterpart. Examples of Crucial Conversations include calling out a colleague’s racist behavior, confronting a friend about substance abuse, or giving a team member difficult feedback.

People often avoid difficult interactions, seeing engagement in such conversations as a choice between honesty and maintaining the relationship. However, this is a false binary. The longer you postpone a Crucial Conversation, the more room you create for misunderstanding and resentment. Unless you talk through your issues, the relationship will disintegrate. At the same time, if you handle a confrontation poorly, you could end up harming the relationship anyway. Humans’ fight-or-flight response to conflict can easily sabotage even the most well-meaning efforts at communication.

If you learn to conduct them properly, Crucial Conversations can offer the best of both worlds: allowing you to resolve ...

About the Authors

Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler are social scientists for business performance and organizational change. Kerry Patterson is a professor of econometrics at the University of Reading. Emily Gregory is a writer and business consultant.


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    E. L. 3 months ago
    Great and useful guidance.
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    P. G. 4 months ago
    Great advice from the experts.