Fierce Conversations (Revised and Updated)


Book Description

Fully revised and updated—the national bestselling communication skills guide that will help you achieve personal and professional success one conversation at a time. The master teacher of positive change through powerful communication, Susan Scott wants you to succeed. To do that, she explains, you must transform everyday conversations at work and at home with effective ways to get your message across—and get what you want. In this guide, which includes a workbook and The Seven Principles of Fierce Conversations, Scott teaches you how to: • Overcome barriers to meaningful communication • Expand and enrich relationships with colleagues, friends, and family • Increase clarity and improve understanding • Handle strong emotions—on both sides of the table • Connect with colleagues, customers and family at a deep level Includes a Foreword by Ken Blanchard, the bestselling co-author of The One Minute Manager




It's A Conversation


Book Description

Communication is the venue people use to invite others to their mental party. It's a Conversation is a head-to-head and heart-to-heart collaboration between two friends. During their casual talks, they decided to use Post-its and record comments that sounded special and worth remembering. These jotted Post-its grew and became this book. The authors agreed early on that what people say frequently includes onion-peel layers of meaning that extends further than the literal words being spoken. This book shares their perspectives with the reader by offering some clarity to selected, familiar phrases and buzz statements. It's a Conversation takes a second, sometimes third look, before responding to the situations presented in each idiom. The authors are looking at the big picture, not just what was said. For example, an old adage like "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" can unpack a deeper meaning once it is studied. It's a Conversation highlights the power your words have. Words can add to or subtract value from a person's quality of life. Unlike perishable groceries, words don't possess the luxury of a shelf life or an expiration date. Words outlive their microphoned participants, and yes, what is said, who says it, how and why it is said--always matters.




A Conversation Book 2


Book Description

Videodisc recording that tells the story of a man named Luis, his problems, and his search for the right job. It is designed for adult ESL students at introductory to intermediate levels, and provides practice in English listening, speaking, reading, and writing.




Making Conversation


Book Description

A former Senior Partner and Global Managing Director at the legendary design firm IDEO shows how to design conversations and meetings that are creative and impactful. Conversations are one of the most fundamental means of communicating we have as humans. At their best, conversations are unconstrained, authentic and open—two or more people sharing thoughts and ideas in a way that bridges our individual experiences, achieves a common goal. At their worst, they foster misunderstanding, frustration and obscure our real intentions. How often do you walk away from a conversation feeling really heard? That it moved the people in it forward in some important way? You’re not alone. In his practice as a designer, Fred Dust began to approach conversations differently. After years of trying to broker communication between colleagues and clients, he came to believe there had to a way to design the art of conversation itself with intention and purpose, but still artful and playful. Making Conversation codifies what he learned and outlines the seven elements essential to successful exchanges: Commitment, Creative Listening, Clarity, Context, Constraints, Change, and Create. Taken together, these seven elements form a set of resources anyone can use to be more deliberate and purposeful in making conversations work.




We Need to Talk


Book Description

“WE NEED TO TALK.” In this urgent and insightful book, public radio journalist Celeste Headlee shows us how to bridge what divides us--by having real conversations BASED ON THE TED TALK WITH OVER 10 MILLION VIEWS NPR's Best Books of 2017 Winner of the 2017 Silver Nautilus Award in Relationships & Communication “We Need to Talk is an important read for a conversationally-challenged, disconnected age. Headlee is a talented, honest storyteller, and her advice has helped me become a better spouse, friend, and mother.” (Jessica Lahey, author of New York Times bestseller The Gift of Failure) Today most of us communicate from behind electronic screens, and studies show that Americans feel less connected and more divided than ever before. The blame for some of this disconnect can be attributed to our political landscape, but the erosion of our conversational skills as a society lies with us as individuals. And the only way forward, says Headlee, is to start talking to each other. In We Need to Talk, she outlines the strategies that have made her a better conversationalist—and offers simple tools that can improve anyone’s communication. For example: BE THERE OR GO ELSEWHERE. Human beings are incapable of multitasking, and this is especially true of tasks that involve language. Think you can type up a few emails while on a business call, or hold a conversation with your child while texting your spouse? Think again. CHECK YOUR BIAS. The belief that your intelligence protects you from erroneous assumptions can end up making you more vulnerable to them. We all have blind spots that affect the way we view others. Check your bias before you judge someone else. HIDE YOUR PHONE. Don’t just put down your phone, put it away. New research suggests that the mere presence of a cell phone can negatively impact the quality of a conversation. Whether you’re struggling to communicate with your kid’s teacher at school, an employee at work, or the people you love the most—Headlee offers smart strategies that can help us all have conversations that matter.




Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man


Book Description

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An urgent primer on race and racism, from the host of the viral hit video series “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man” “You cannot fix a problem you do not know you have.” So begins Emmanuel Acho in his essential guide to the truths Americans need to know to address the systemic racism that has recently electrified protests in all fifty states. “There is a fix,” Acho says. “But in order to access it, we’re going to have to have some uncomfortable conversations.” In Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, Acho takes on all the questions, large and small, insensitive and taboo, many white Americans are afraid to ask—yet which all Americans need the answers to, now more than ever. With the same open-hearted generosity that has made his video series a phenomenon, Acho explains the vital core of such fraught concepts as white privilege, cultural appropriation, and “reverse racism.” In his own words, he provides a space of compassion and understanding in a discussion that can lack both. He asks only for the reader’s curiosity—but along the way, he will galvanize all of us to join the antiracist fight.




The Year Without Pants


Book Description

A behind-the-scenes look at the firm behind WordPress.com and the unique work culture that contributes to its phenomenal success 50 million websites, or twenty percent of the entire web, use WordPress software. The force behind WordPress.com is a convention-defying company called Automattic, Inc., whose 120 employees work from anywhere in the world they wish, barely use email, and launch improvements to their products dozens of times a day. With a fraction of the resources of Google, Amazon, or Facebook, they have a similar impact on the future of the Internet. How is this possible? What's different about how they work, and what can other companies learn from their methods? To find out, former Microsoft veteran Scott Berkun worked as a manager at WordPress.com, leading a team of young programmers developing new ideas. The Year Without Pants shares the secrets of WordPress.com's phenomenal success from the inside. Berkun's story reveals insights on creativity, productivity, and leadership from the kind of workplace that might be in everyone's future. Offers a fast-paced and entertaining insider's account of how an amazing, powerful organization achieves impressive results Includes vital lessons about work culture and managing creativity Written by author and popular blogger Scott Berkun (scottberkun.com) The Year Without Pants shares what every organization can learn from the world-changing ideas for the future of work at the heart of Automattic's success.




Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, Third Edition


Book Description

Keep your cool and get the results you want when faced with crucial conversations. This New York Times bestseller and business classic has been fully updated for a world where skilled communication is more important than ever. The book that revolutionized business communications has been updated for today’s workplace. Crucial Conversations provides powerful skills to ensure every conversation—especially difficult ones—leads to the results you want. Written in an engaging and witty style, the book teaches readers how to be persuasive rather than abrasive, how to get back to productive dialogue when others blow up or clam up, and it offers powerful skills for mastering high-stakes conversations, regardless of the topic or person. This new edition addresses issues that have arisen in recent years. You’ll learn how to: Respond when someone initiates a crucial conversation with you Identify and address the lag time between identifying a problem and discussing it Communicate more effectively across digital mediums When stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong, you have three choices: Avoid a crucial conversation and suffer the consequences; handle the conversation poorly and suffer the consequences; or apply the lessons and strategies of Crucial Conversations and improve relationships and results. Whether they take place at work or at home, with your coworkers or your spouse, crucial conversations have a profound impact on your career, your happiness, and your future. With the skills you learn in this book, you'll never have to worry about the outcome of a crucial conversation again.




The Message: A Conversation with Christ and the Events That Preceded It


Book Description

As remarkable as it may sound this book is the result of divine intervention and inspiration. It is an account of the circumstances surrounding the receipt of a message given to mankind and intended to explain the nature of existence and to provide some insight into the nature of God, as best as we can understand it. It is a message that was intended specifically for you and regardless of your belief system I think you will find it extraordinary, enlightening, and inspirational. The receipt of this message has had a very dramatic impact on me and it is my joy to share it with you. Every word of this account is relayed to you as it was spoken without fictionalization of any kind. It is presented to you as it occurred and as it was recorded on audio tape. A small portion is also on video tape.




How to Start a Conversation with Anyone


Book Description

Here's a question for you… Do your palms get sweaty, your knees weak, your arms heavy and your throat dry whenever there's an opportunity to strike up a conversation with a total stranger? Maybe it's not as grim as I painted it above, but if you ever find yourself hesitant to talk to a stranger, then chances are that you have a social anxiety disorder (SAD). For most people, the bathroom is not just where they lather up, it's also where they have all the perfect conversations they couldn't have with strangers they meet in their daily lives. You may think… they are just strangers; it's not like they are a huge part of my life. But remember what Rodney McKuen, a best-selling American poet, singer, and actor said? “Strangers are just friends waiting to happen” This is about more than just making friends. It's about making yourself happier, more connected to your communities, mentally sharper, less lonely, and more optimistic about life. Heck, it's about life itself. Smiling at strangers is great, lending them a helping hand is greater. But you know what's even better? Having life-changing conversations with them. Grab this book today and never second guess yourself again in front of a stranger.