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Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High
 
 
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Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High (Paperback)

~ Kerry Patterson (Author), Joseph Grenny (Author), Ron McMillan (Author), Al Switzler (Author), Stephen R. Covey (Author) "When people first hear the term "crucial conversation," many conjure up images of presidents, emperors, and prime ministers seated around a massive table while they..." (more)
Key Phrases: mastering crucial conversations, share your facts, dialogue skills, Mutual Purpose, Sucker's Choices, Style Under Stress (more...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (183 customer reviews)
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Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High + Crucial Confrontations: Tools for talking about broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior + Influencer: The Power to Change Anything
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Price For All Three: $39.22

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"What a profound and timely book! Here is the cure for arguments and misunderstandings; for mediocrity and frustration. This book offers a wealth of principles and skills that will dramatically improve your career, your organization, and your relationships." Stephen R. Covey

Product Description

Foreword by Stephen R. Covey, Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

A PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

"Most books make promises. This one delivers. These skills have not only helped us to change the culture of our company, but have also generated new techniques for working together in ways that enabled us to win the largest contract in our industry's history."--Dain M. Hancock, President, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

A powerful, seven-step approach to handling difficult conversations with confidence and skill

"Crucial" conversations are interpersonal exchanges at work or at home that we dread having but know we cannot avoid. How do you say what needs to be said while avoiding an argument with a boss, child, or relationship partner? Crucial Conversations offers readers a proven seven-point strategy for achieving their goals in all those emotionally, psychologically, or legally charged situations that can arise in their professional and personal lives. Based on the authors' highly popular DialogueSmart training seminars, the techniques are geared toward getting people to lower their defenses, creating mutual respect and understanding, increasing emotional safety, and encouraging freedom of expression. Among other things, readers also learn about the four main factors that characterize crucial conversations, and they get a powerful six-minute mastery technique that prepares them to work through any highimpact situation with confidence.

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (June 18, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0071401946
  • ISBN-13: 978-0071401944
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (183 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #244 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #1 in  Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Negotiating
    #1 in  Books > Health, Mind & Body > Relationships > Interpersonal Relations
    #1 in  Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Communications

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Kerry Patterson
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
When people first hear the term "crucial conversation," many conjure up images of presidents, emperors, and prime ministers seated around a massive table while they debate the future of the world. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
mastering crucial conversations, share your facts, dialogue skills, retrace your path, healthy dialogue, clever stories, tough conversations
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mutual Purpose, Sucker's Choices, Style Under Stress, Mutual Respect, Pool of Shared Meaning, Helpless Stories, Villain Stories, Villain Story, The Dialogue Model, Helpless Story, The Path, Victim Story
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Customer Reviews

183 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (183 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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63 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, practical, engaging--an exceptional book!, May 6, 2003
By A Customer
When I obtained a copy of Crucial Conversations, I had very high expectations of this book having read the authors' outstanding earlier work, The Balancing Act. I must say I wasn't disappointed; in fact, I was delighted! Crucial Conversations is an extremely insightful and very practical book. Indeed, it is a very rare combination to find a book that contains profound ideas as well as provides actionable tools and Crucial Conversations delivers both.

The book addresses a topic that is largely misunderstood and vastly underestimated: high stakes dialogue. The authors define crucial conversations as those where 1) stakes are high, 2) opinions vary, and 3) emotions run strong, or in other words, much of both our professional and personal lives. We're all involved in crucial conversations at home and at work but most of us are not very aware of the interpersonal dynamics at play and/or we're unskilled in how to respond differently. The book helps the reader first understand the principles involved in "crucial conversations" but then also helps the reader develop real skills and abilities to choose or change their communication patterns. The end result is remarkable. The book's impact is a much bigger idea than simple communication--it's all about effective human interaction and getting results with and through people.

The book is highly readable, extremely engaging and actually quite fun. It is filled with illustrations and stories from all walks of life: business examples, personal examples and family examples. The fact that the principles and skills the authors teach can be applied in all dimensions of life--work, home, personal--is very appealing to me and made the book extremely helpful on many fronts.

I benefitted most from this book from a business standpoint and have found that applying these skills has made a real difference at work. I'm more courageous and more considerate at the same time. I understand people better but I especially understand myself better. I'm far more conscious and aware of my dialogue with others and I've greatly improved my skills and abilities to lead effectively. The bottom line is, I'm helping my company get better results and I'm far more effective personally. If more people in business were to apply these principles and skills in the frequent crucial conversations they have at work, they would make better decisions, achieve better results and do it all in a way that would build the trust and strengthen relationships. I couldn't give a book higher marks. Outstanding!

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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This book changed my life, November 18, 2006
By M and G (Dover, NH) - See all my reviews
I cannot believe that this material is not standard material for schools. Coupled with "Good to Great," "Topgrading," and "The Toyota Way" you've got the ammo you need to be a killer leader.

Pro:
-Reveals one of the great secrets how "true leaders" separate themselves from everyone else (based on numerous hours of first-hand corporate study)
-Describes "fight and flight" and other responses and how to tame them
-Details a near foolproof method/recipe for approaching others when stakes are high, topics are embarrassing, people disagree, etc.
-There is a two-day class that I took with this book which is the only commercial class I recommend. Find it and take it!
-I have improved myself immensely, have successfully approached beligerant co-workers and to diffuse tense family clashes. I've even been thanked for doing it!

Con:
-I honestly can't think of any

Bottom line: this book is a must read for everyone. Applies to everyday life, in and out of work. I also got the CDs, which are good now and again during my commute.
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210 of 278 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This Book is REQUIRED READING for my Company!, June 26, 2002
By Timothy V. Stay (Provo, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
PAY THE [money] this book costs and avoid costly litigation, improve your communication, better manage expectations, defuse pent up emotions, and let your company be more productive!

I just finished Crucial Conversations and the first thing that I did as I laid down the book, was to log on to Amazon and order 30 copies to give to the managers within my company. I am the owner of my company of 600 employees and I am constantly searching for better ways to improve communication among our staff and employees. I am going to make sure that my HR team includes these principles into their training.

As I read through this book, I found that so many of our issues within the company would have been eliminated or diminished if we had embraced and utilized the tools laid out within this book. I could have avoided a costly lawsuit if these principles had been utilized when we were disciplining and eventually terminating an unproductive employee.

The authors have blended the humor of Dilbert, with the vision of Stephen Covey, with the practicality of consultants who have been down in the trenches of some of the biggest corporations in the US. It is an easy and enjoyable read.

I also found as I read the book that I kept thinking about how to use these tools to improve the conversations in my personal life, with my wife and with my children. I would love to see a second book that focused on Crucial Conversations at Home.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars LIFE CHANGING BOOK
THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE ( WORK,RELATIONSHIPS AT HOME,FRIENDS),IF YOU UNDERSTAND AND PRACTICE THE SKILLS DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK.IT CHANGED MY LIFE.MANY THANKS TO THE AUTHORS.
Published 29 days ago by Satinder P. Judge

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic book, I highly recommend it.
This is one of the best books I have read in learning new skills especially in communication. I loved these authors- before this book I read, " Influencer" which I highly... Read more
Published 1 month ago by stingray

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable career developer
Have you ever been in a situation where the right choice of words keeps everyone focused on solving the matter at hand whereas the wrong words results in unproductive feuding and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Robert Vollman

4.0 out of 5 stars You Don't Say...
Or what should you say...

Great book for learning the art of conversation in business and other situations. Great reading.
Published 1 month ago by COSavingsShopper

5.0 out of 5 stars Good foundation for working on tough issues together
This is a great book for those of us that consult with family businesses, although I have also often used it with my large, publically traded clients, too. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Marian Cook

5.0 out of 5 stars Check It Out
Like what Joseph Grenny says about crucial conversations for project managers? Then you'll love this book. Check it out!
Published 3 months ago by Kristin J. Arnold

5.0 out of 5 stars Need to develop a better conversation model for family and employees? Look no further...
Crucial conversations is one of the best communication books I've read. From a conversation model perspective, Kerry Patterson (and team) lays out the fundamental model for... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jared Pyatt

5.0 out of 5 stars It helped me
I bought this book when I was having trouble at work. Lots of egos were in the way, including mine. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sinai J. Flottman

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
This is an excellent book that explains how we behave an act when we enter a crucial conversation, and provides practical guidelines for keeping the conversation moving and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Yves Tkaczyk

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best advice you'll ever receive
I have read a lot of self-help/instructional books and this is definitely one of the best I've read (the other being Crucial Confrontations which I think is slightly better than... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Fan from Oz

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