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Difficult Conversations

How to Discuss What Matters Most

Author Douglas Stone, Sheila Heen, Bruce Patton
Read by Douglas Stone
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Audio | Random House Audio
On sale Jul 05, 2000 | 5 Hours and 40 Minutes | 9780553752588
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Dealing with your ex-husband, who can't seem to show up reliably for weekends with the kids; navigating a workplace fraught with office politics or racial tensions; saying "I'm sorry" or "I love you".

We all have difficult conversations, no matter how confident or competent we are. And too often, no matter what we try, things don't go well. Should you say what you're thinking and risk starting a fight? Swallow your views and feel like a doormat? Or should you let them have it? But--what if you're wrong?

Difficult Conversations shows you a way out of this dilemma; it teaches you how to handle even the toughest conversations more effectively and with less anxiety. Based on fifteen years of work at Harvard Negotiation Project and consultations with thousands of people, the authors answer the question: When people confront the conversations they dread the most, what works?

Difficult Conversations walks you through a proven, concrete, step-by-step approach for understanding and conducting tough conversations. It shows you how to get ready, how to start the conversations in ways that reduce defensiveness, and how to keep the conversation on a constructive track regardless of how the other person responds.

Whether you're dealing with your baby-sitter or biggest client, your boss or your brother-in-law, Difficult Conversations can help.
Douglas Stone is a lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. With Sheila Heen and Bruce Patton of the Harvard Negotiation Project, he wrote the international bestseller Difficult Conversations. He is also a coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Thanks for the Feedback (written with Sheila Heen). He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. View titles by Douglas Stone
© Joe Wallace
Sheila Heen is a lecturer on law at Harvard Law School. With Douglas Stone and Bruce Patton of the Harvard Negotiation Project, she wrote the international bestseller Difficult Conversations. She is also a co-author of the New York Times bestseller Thanks for the Feedback (written with Douglas Stone). She lives near Cambridge, Massachusetts. View titles by Sheila Heen
Bruce Patton is cofounder and distinguished fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Project. With Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone he wrote the international bestseller Difficult Conversations. He is also the co-author with Roger Fisher and William Ury of Getting to Yes. View titles by Bruce Patton

About

Dealing with your ex-husband, who can't seem to show up reliably for weekends with the kids; navigating a workplace fraught with office politics or racial tensions; saying "I'm sorry" or "I love you".

We all have difficult conversations, no matter how confident or competent we are. And too often, no matter what we try, things don't go well. Should you say what you're thinking and risk starting a fight? Swallow your views and feel like a doormat? Or should you let them have it? But--what if you're wrong?

Difficult Conversations shows you a way out of this dilemma; it teaches you how to handle even the toughest conversations more effectively and with less anxiety. Based on fifteen years of work at Harvard Negotiation Project and consultations with thousands of people, the authors answer the question: When people confront the conversations they dread the most, what works?

Difficult Conversations walks you through a proven, concrete, step-by-step approach for understanding and conducting tough conversations. It shows you how to get ready, how to start the conversations in ways that reduce defensiveness, and how to keep the conversation on a constructive track regardless of how the other person responds.

Whether you're dealing with your baby-sitter or biggest client, your boss or your brother-in-law, Difficult Conversations can help.

Author

Douglas Stone is a lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. With Sheila Heen and Bruce Patton of the Harvard Negotiation Project, he wrote the international bestseller Difficult Conversations. He is also a coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Thanks for the Feedback (written with Sheila Heen). He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. View titles by Douglas Stone
© Joe Wallace
Sheila Heen is a lecturer on law at Harvard Law School. With Douglas Stone and Bruce Patton of the Harvard Negotiation Project, she wrote the international bestseller Difficult Conversations. She is also a co-author of the New York Times bestseller Thanks for the Feedback (written with Douglas Stone). She lives near Cambridge, Massachusetts. View titles by Sheila Heen
Bruce Patton is cofounder and distinguished fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Project. With Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone he wrote the international bestseller Difficult Conversations. He is also the co-author with Roger Fisher and William Ury of Getting to Yes. View titles by Bruce Patton

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