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

This is a great book on communicating and conflict resolution. It is well-written and the examples communicate the intended points without distracting from the flow of the book.

The concepts in here are invaluable. They are presented in a way where one can start using them quickly in everyday life. For example, the author talks about that good communicators are always scanning to see if the listener feels safe. This sounds easy enough, but is that really something in the forefront of most people's minds? By contrasting what the average person does with what a good listener does, the finer points of emotional intelligence are called out in a way that the reader can can digest and be specific around with respect to goal setting.

This book also presents the basics of a cognitive model of how emotions get triggered and how these emotions are related to needs. This is very important to understand when feelings are running high and the way it is presented, one can apply it to difficult conversations to get at essential needs.

Overall, this is an excellent book and I recommend it without reservation. I also think Difficult Conversations is a nice compliment to this book, but if I had to get one or the other, I would probably get this one.

Wisdom from common life. Organized thoughts and good practices for communication among people.

the text provides new perspectives on an age-old topic - having conversations. I have found the examples and strategies presented both informative and insiteful for all types of conversations - personal, professional, and casual. A definite "buy" in my book...

Since most of my career has included public speaking I am rarely intimidated by confrontation. I have been the employee negotiating for my salary and a boss dealing with overworked, stressed employees. Even with years of experience, this book helped me to be more aware of how my own speech patterns may affect the people I deal with - on both sides of the fence.

After reading Crucial Conversations, I more easily recognize words that usually invoke an emotional response and avoid them.

This book makes a wonderful gift for employees, friends and family - all careers from CFO to Coffee Barista to Secretary. I highly recommend this book for seasoned professionals and college students.

This book was great! It's a must read for anyone who attempts to communicate with other humans. The authors, with their vast experience and knowledge, impart the finer points of "raining on someones parade" in a nice way. A fine skill, indeed!