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

By Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler

The New York Times and Washington Post bestseller that changed the way millions communicate

“[Crucial Conversations] draws our attention to those defining moments that literally shape our lives, our relationships, and our world. . . . This book deserves to take its place as one of the key thought leadership contributions of our time.”
—from the Foreword by Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“The quality of your life comes out of the quality of your dialogues and conversations. Here’s how to instantly uplift your crucial conversations.”
—Mark Victor Hansen, cocreator of the #1 New York Times bestselling series Chicken Soup for the Soul®

The first edition of Crucial Conversations exploded onto the scene and revolutionized the way millions of people communicate when stakes are high. This new edition gives you the tools to:

• Prepare for high-stakes situations
• Transform anger and hurt feelings into powerful dialogue
• Make it safe to talk about almost anything
• Be persuasive, not abrasive

• Language: English
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
• Release date: Sep 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9780071772204

Book preview

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

[Jerry Weis · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I studied the audio course for this about 12 years ago and for the next five years, tried to apply this to work and home situations. Unfortunately this never really worked well for me. I kept getting railroaded by people. While there are some good topics such as starting with heart, many other concepts can work against you. For example, Nothing makes you lose credibility faster than using tentative language.. Since then, I’ve read a lot of other ways to manage people that are both easier to implement and quicker to learn.

[Visham Hussain · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A must read for whoever is looking for improvement in having crucial communication with merely anyone. Authors hard work is highly appreciated.

[ittai_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good practical way of dealing with difficult conversations & situations. It helps you to get into the mind of others and recognize the same issues in your own mind as you address issues. Excellent material.

[landlocked54 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you are concerned about how to tackle a sensitive conversation with anyone, this is a must read book.

[nicole_a_davis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A surprisingly good self-help type book about how to talk to people without getting emotional, have difficult conversations, how to get people to compromise with you, etc. Examples tend to be from the business world and include some jargon, but there are also examples from personal life. I got the book in conjunction with a training program.

[sachachua_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Highly recommended. W- and I have both read this, and it makes those tough conversations go so smoothly! =D

[arnett_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Every teacher, principal or other leader should read this book. It has powerful advice on how to handle conversations within board meetings, parents meetings, etc.

[dasam-5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Shouldn't a book on how to have productive dialogue be unneeded? Don't we already know how to talk with each other?

We may, but we often don't.

This is a useful set of tools and strategies for having those conversations with loved ones at home and with colleagues at work.

[jpsnow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an exceptional guide to approaching life-changing conversations in a way that handles the baggage and emotions that so often derail them. It includes a general framework, plus some self-diagnostic tools and plenty of realistic examples.

[buffalogr · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A key skill for any effective leader is the ability to navigate emotionally or politically risky issues.Some good insights. Implementing it's suggestions requires practice and reference to the book. Perhaps, not so good for an audio book.

[pferdina · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is very useful. It provides lots of help in learning to have difficult conversations. Following some of the suggestions has made me a better communicator already.

[ldvoorberg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Some padding in the content, but most of it is actual, useful how-to with examples. It's not fluff, it's not hogwash, it just takes time to reshape or rewire how one defaults into old habits in conversations. With practise, this could be a game changer.

[ipreuss-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book tackles a very important topic, and from the right perspective, in my opinion. The lessons taught are very fundamental and helpful.The basic lessons are also rather simple and explained quickly, though not necessarily *easy* to really grok. And here is where I felt the book didn't do a very good job: the examples provided often felt superficial and contrived to me, showing the mechanics of the process, but not really communicating the spirit of the ideas.This became especially apparent in the chapter on "tough cases", where the standard advice seems to be "this actually isn't a special case, just do what we have adviced to do in earlier chapters" - just in more words.Still, a very valuable read, with good, sound advice.

[sami7-951065 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Hated the first section about how this book will transform your life and made your a super human being. This book can be summed efficiently into a blog post without losing any core material.

[lbradf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a seminal book with concepts that should be taught in schools, churches, and every workplace. Lives will be changed when these principles are consistently practiced.

[pmtracy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A key skill for any effective leader is the ability to navigate emotionally or politically risky issues. In having these Crucial Conversations, when a lot is at stake and emotions are high, an adept leader must be able to manage themselves more than the situation. It became clear that Coherent Communication and other HeartMath techniques would provide the solid foundation for this self-regulation and allow a top performer to create a safe environment. Once everyone feels heard and unthreatened, then the decision-making and action can proceed.

[nmarun-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have read Difficult Conversations - Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen and although both books talk about how to have these 'important' discussions, they are kinda different approach. I don't intend to say that they have any kind of a prequel/sequel relationship, but just that the ideas and techniques mentioned in this book are very interesting."Emotions don't exactly prepare us to converse effectively."Recommended to anyone.

[Ivan Andrijic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Unlike crucial accountability, this book is focused on a mission to share knowledge for reader and give a tool to better themselves and people around them. You will learn how to get people into problem solving state and spark action and commitment to reach mutually agreed goals, without compromissing trap. It has various, very descriptive, plausible real life scenarios used to vividly decribe the point. Well structured and I would highly recommend it.

[kslade-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Essential guide to serious talk.

[heartofwisdom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Not a Christian book but helpful for people coming out of abusive churches or confronting someone in a cult.

[sarahlh-41506 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Actual rating: 2.5. Some good ideas but I don't think I walked away from it with as many usable lessons on communication as I've had with other texts. Also, it lacks an understanding of nuance in relationships and intersectionality that I can't fully express right now.

[ellsbethb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While the strategies presented in this books are worth considering, I found myself struggling with the writing style. The authors kept extolling the virtues of their strategies, how "great" they are, and how much they will change your life. It felt a bit like reading an infomercial. The numerous examples felt half formed. The strategies presented seemed like common sense, but there was very little evidence beyond anecdotes to proved their effectiveness. There were only 5 citations in the book, despite multiple areas where references could/should be added. It is possible I just struggle with the genre of business books that feel more like an infomercial than good research. I will try to be more conscious about using the strategies in the book, but reading it was a slog for me.