Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High

Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler

When the project was given to write a book report, I wanted to choose something that would be interesting, and most beneficial for helping myself take a great deal away from the source. Therefore, I had to start by looking at what I do most in my everyday life, and find where it crossed over with our Organizational Behavior (BUS-5450) class. Being a configuration management engineer, I find myself having to communicate with other engineers, government workers, contractors, and the warfighter several times a day. It is no secret that engineers aren’t particularly known for communication skills, but being having them was something that I always took pride in. When I came across Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, I saw an opportunity to see just how good I really was. Doing research about this book, and learning how to actually break down dialogue and communication with others seemed like it could be a beneficial way to learn how to make myself understand and understood better not only in the workplace, but at home, at the grocery store, with my girlfriend, etc… the list is endless. Conversation is a necessary part of life and if you can master dialogue, then you can be sure that you are prepared for any exchange no matter how “crucial” it may be. I may not always be able to control the outcome, but I can fine tune my skills to push it in that direction, while being respectful, as well as respected. Choosing this book seemed like a beneficial learning experience.

The authors’ start by defining exactly what a Crucial Conversation is.

Crucial Conversation: “A discussion between two or more people where (1) stakes are high, (2) opinions vary, and (3) emotions run strong”.

Every day we are involved in these crucial conversations, and until you really think about it, everyone has their own way of dealing with them...