book data
605 ratings,
3.90
average rating, 157 reviews
(more data...)
edit
published
June 18th 2002
by McGraw-Hill
binding
Paperback, 256 pages
isbn
0071401946
(isbn13: 9780071401944)
description
The New York Times Bestseller!
Learn how to keep your cool and get the results you want when emotions flare.
When stakes are high, opinions vary, an
...more
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 Books A Year: Non - Fiction Recommendations | 27 | 239 | 11 days ago, 06:06AM | |
| 50 Books A Year: Norma's 2009 Reading List | 29 | 78 | 06/01/2009 08:36PM | |
| Book discussion | 1 | 13 | 08/20/2008 04:34AM |
friend reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1,046)
All ratings
|
5 stars (172)
|
4 stars (247)
|
3 stars (150)
|
2 stars (28)
|
1 star (8)
|
avg 3.90
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
everyone!
I teach this course and have found the skills and insights that people experience can be life-changing. This book will help you in your personal and professional relationships. Crucial Conversations is not about being confrontational, avoiding conflict, or getting your way. Its about how to help yourself and others stay in dialogue so you can get the results you want. Its about learning, finding the truth, and strengthening relationships.
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in June, 2007
This book has valuable information, but the reader has to dig for it. I'm not impressed with the editing job; I think the editor could have helped bring more clarity to the discussion. They come up with a lot of jargon that you have to remember throughout the book ("Start with Heart," "Clever Stories," etc) and keeping track of their key words and phrases makes the learning process more difficult.
That said, I believe there are useful tools in the book (some exe...more
That said, I believe there are useful tools in the book (some exe...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in November, 2004
Probably the most influential book I've read in the past five years. The concepts have probably been around for a long time, but this was my first exposure to them. I'm still learning how to do the things mentioned here, but it really has helped me shift the way I think about others. The authors have a web site with a lot of great stuff in it, and their monthly-ish newsletter is one I actually read!
NOTE: I haven't actually re-read it since I first got it, so this is a review of im...more
NOTE: I haven't actually re-read it since I first got it, so this is a review of im...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
You could say this is a self-help book, which is usually the kiss of death.
But not in this case. I found this book nothing short of amazing as a theoretical explanation of how relationships go wrong and as a practical guide to how to diffuse difficult situations.
For me it provided a real breakthrough by demystifying:
* Guilt-tripping (Jewish mother style)
* Passive-aggressive behavior
* Evasiveness - refusal of the other party to admit there is a problem o...more
But not in this case. I found this book nothing short of amazing as a theoretical explanation of how relationships go wrong and as a practical guide to how to diffuse difficult situations.
For me it provided a real breakthrough by demystifying:
* Guilt-tripping (Jewish mother style)
* Passive-aggressive behavior
* Evasiveness - refusal of the other party to admit there is a problem o...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
My friend, Joel Canfield, told a social network I belong to about this book. And with all the new tools for communication, blogs, social networks, Twitter, Ning groups--this book is really helpful. It's about how we all can learn to create a space where everyone can say what is really on their minds. Need to speak up to your boss? Need to tell that quick-fingered, group member that he is cyberspace hog? Is your friend really interested in you or simply wants to blab at you? The quality of these...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
06/18/09
Angeldauria
is currently reading it
Read in June, 2009
The authors definition of crucial conversations are when 1) stakes are high 2) opinions vary 3) emotions run strong. This can be as small as whose turn it is to do the dishes. It offers practical examples of negotiating every day conversations to keep the dialog going. By offering a very common sense view of communication, how communication is processed and how to control your internal dialog in order to guide a conversation to success this book is applicable to every aspect of life, not just...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2008
Do you want to improve the quality of your communication while at the same time improving the quality of your relationships? If practice and change are okay with you, this book has the answer, and the answer, like Mary says, is LOVE-based--love for both parties in an argument. I don't know where I was when this book became a NY Times bestseller a few years ago--but I believe so strongly in its potential that I gave each of my children a copy for Christmas. And, oh yes, even Stephen Covey, who...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone with aspirations
Allows one to determine possible negative points about how one interacts with others and how one thinks about others. Must read.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to have better relationships. It's style is clear and very reader friendly, with stories and acronyms to assist comprehension. And the content is just perfect. It talks about how to really communicate with people. To look for what you really want, even when the pressure is on, and not succumb to stupid moves that ruin relationships (see any chick flick film for an example of succumbing to stupid moves). Even though I have thought a lot about h...more
Like this review?
yes
2 comments
Read in September, 2008
This was the book our managers' group at work chose to read and discuss. We took three months to get through it and some folks actually still didn't finish it. I'm not sure why they didn't because it was a great book.
There are a lot of strategies on how to respond, not react, to difficult conversations and keep emotions out of the mix in the book. Also, a lot of tips on how to make conversations safe and productive for both parties.
I led the discussion of the final fou...more
There are a lot of strategies on how to respond, not react, to difficult conversations and keep emotions out of the mix in the book. Also, a lot of tips on how to make conversations safe and productive for both parties.
I led the discussion of the final fou...more
Like this review?
yes
4 comments
Read in May, 2009
I got this book for insight into dealing with some of my employees. Right now I am drinking beer and worrying about my store, so one could question whether it's actually working. But I have found it pretty useful in terms of understanding my own pathology about dealing with difficult conversations and in developing techniques that have actually helped. It's always amazing where honest communication will take you, if you're willing to take what you dish out.
I'm 80% through the book - feel qualified enough to write a review, even though i may not return to finish it..
this is one of those "we tried to determine what makes successful people successful and distilled it down to this one thing" books
well written, well narrated, i certainly learnt a thing or two..
strongly recommended - for both the life of business and the business of life
this is one of those "we tried to determine what makes successful people successful and distilled it down to this one thing" books
well written, well narrated, i certainly learnt a thing or two..
strongly recommended - for both the life of business and the business of life
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Excellent book at helping people dissect a stressful interaction and dialogue together to an appropriate outcome. I bought this to use some of the concepts with my nursing students in their Leadership class. I did feel like some of the concepts could have been discussed in a more straightforward fashion but, generally it was helpful.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2009
I did like a lot of the points in this book, though I thought it suffered from an overuse of acronyms. The premise is to guide you through how to handle crucial conversations in a productive manner. First, you step back from the dialogue and make the conversation safe so the other party feels they can talk about the issue. Then you state your path, the facts leading up to your viewpoint and ask the other person (honestly) if they see it differently? Well, there's a lot of other steps in ther...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
My dad recommended this book to me. I have seen how much it has changed the way he interacts with people and how it has refined an already remarkable man into something even more. Reading it was honestly a life changing experience because I could recognize so many mistakes that I was making in my communication style! I was able to focus on changes I needed to make in myself. By doing so I feel more empowered to control my own life instead of allowing circumstances to control me. It has grea...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2009
This is a book I would like to have a seminar on with all of my married children and married friends. I think we can all improve our communication skills. If we did I think it could save us a lot of heartache and help us avoid offending others.
You need your own copy so you can underline and mark up as you please.
You need your own copy so you can underline and mark up as you please.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2009
For some reason I didn't connect well with this book. I'm not sure if it was the writing style or the messages. I'm a bit surprised it was listed on The New York Times Bestseller List. After reading it, I kind of felt the same way I did when I read Kevin Trudeau's Natural Cures. Just blah.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
We used these concepts as an exercise for our Youth Council teens and it was very effective. It teaches one how to take control of a difficult situation and to focus on staying calm, while still communicating one's interests. If only I had had these techniques available as a teenager myself!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2008
recommended to Ivan by:
a human resources directorrecommends it for: managers, and people who are sometimes too confrontational
The techniques in this book (e.g. creating a safe environment to encourage candor in others) were already proving useful to me before I finished reading it. Crucial Conversations wasn't a very exciting read, but by the second chapter it was clear to me that it contained information I needed.
Probably a lot of people don't need this book because they already know this stuff, having taught themselves similar effective techniques. I have met some of these people. I liked them.
...more
Probably a lot of people don't need this book because they already know this stuff, having taught themselves similar effective techniques. I have met some of these people. I liked them.
...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I found this book very useful, espeically for people like me who work with other people constantly. It provides insights and techniques to deal with people when the risk is high. I have found many of these ideas very practical and easy to practice and implement.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
groups with this book
