The Four Conversations: Daily Communication That Gets Results [Paperback]

Talk is powerful. And it isn’t just ‘difficult’ conversations that matter— the everyday dialogue we have with one another is critical to both personal and organizational success. Packed with sample dialogues and dozens of personal stories, and backed by solid research and the authors’ firsthand observations,The Four Conversationsdescribes how to get maximum results from conversations that every one of us must use to get things done: initiative conversations introducing something new, understanding conversations to help people relate to ideas or processes, performance conversations requesting specific actions, and closure conversations that recognize achievements and signal completion of the work. As Jeffrey and Laurie Ford clearly demonstrate, engage in the right conversation at the right time—plan and start each one well, finish every one effectively—and extraordinary things can happen.Preface
Chapter 1 – Four Conversations in a Successful Workplace
1. The Importance of Conversations
2. Some Conversations Slow Things Down, Others Speed Things Up
3. Six Limitations to a Successful Workplace
4. Conversations: Your Personal Advantage
5. Key Points
Chapter 2 – Initiative Conversations: Create a Future
1. Leaders Have Initiative Conversations
2. Choose Your Initiative Statement: What-When-Why
3. Prepare for Your Initiative Conversation: Who-Where-How
4. Launch Your Initiative Conversation
5. If You Are Missing Initiative Conversations
6. Putting it into Practice
Chapter 3 – Understanding Conversations: Include & Engage
1. Help People Find a Positive Meaning in Your Message
2. Expand and Deepen Participation
3. The Limits of Understanding
4. If You Are Missing Understanding Conversations
5. Putting it into Practice
Chapter 4 – Performance Conversations: Ask and Promise
1. Commit to Performance: What-lCM