Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition

I actually had to read this book for work, haha. But honestly, it is a life changer- professionally and personally! I love that you can take the quiz on their website. Sometimes it's hard to look in, so the quiz really assists with getting to know yourself and the book breaks it down on how to navigate yourself and communicate effectively during heated conversations. I may read this book once a year because I feel you can always grow from it.

Crucial Conversations – Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High (Updated 2nd Edition) is an incredibly useful and practical book for communicating successfully in difficult or “crucial” conversations. This book is exceptional since it is a collaborative work by experts from around the world (p. xviii). Thus, the cultural bias that could have been reflected in the tools, techniques, and principles presented in the book is avoided. The authors identify three elements to identify a “crucial conversation”. These are: 1) opinions vary 2) stakes are high (financial, self-image, emotional,) and 3) emotions run strong. These elements are present whether discussing a raise at work, an issue with a spouse at home, or discussing fault with a neighbor over fences and property lines. The book is very strong in providing tools and methods to manage critical conversations. It includes a self-assessment (p. 63-67) to help in understanding yourself and how you typically respond and how to adjust to better understand others and thus direct the flow of the discussion. Chapters 6-8 are especially useful and insightful in keeping control of the process when you are angry, scared, or hurt, and still being able to speak persuasively, and listen to others when they clam up or blow up. Included in the book are extensive links to online videos that depict various critical situations as well as videos showing potential outcomes when employing – or failing to employ – the techniques described in the book. These real-world illustrations are extremely useful and provide a practical framework to practice and improve with use. This book is an exceptionally useful tool for empowering meaningful effective communication while avoiding the typical pitfalls associated with “critical” discussions. The tools and techniques apply equally well in any business or ministry and equally as well globally. Tens of thousands of people globally have found these tools to be highly useful and successful. This success has resulted in the formation of a global organization dedicated to continuing the process of refining and improving the tools and techniques described in this book and teaching people to use them effectively. They do include a link to their website.

The books arrived in a timely manner and were perfect!!!! I am doing a book club within my church so the way the books looked and the time they would arrive was very important to me! This company really impressed me ! I am online now to order even more!

How on earth do they ever let us become adults without knowing the principles in this book?! Not having models of successful conversations, I stumbled and bumbled through and wrecked many of my relationships. Had I known and applied the principles in this book, all of my relationships would be much much better. A quick read, well balanced between theory and practical techniques. . Quit reading these reviews and start reading it! If you don't find it trans-formative, I will drive to your house and wash your dishes!

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!

Most books deliver well on the "what." Crucial Conversations delivers on the "how." Those "how to skills" are helping my direct reports and me change the culture of our division. More importantly, it is helping me to generate useful techniques that I can use at work, at home, and during my volunteer work with community service organizations. It has assisted me in identifying what I really want as I dialog with others and lays out the necessary steps to achieve my outcome(s) while maintaining good and positive human relationships.This book is a "must read" for organizational personnel and individuals who have become casual communicators in high stakes conversations, thus missing out on valuable and collaborative resolutions to problems, assisting in negatively labeling others, and settling on mediocre business and personal relationships.