What to Say and How to Say It: 72 Courageous Conversations for the Workplace

All of us struggle at times with finding the right words to say to an employee, a friend, a spouse, or a neighbor. We tend to be timid and hide our true feelings because we are not sure how to respond. What to Say and How to Say It provides us with a guide or road map on how to handle difficult situations and do so in a most professional manner. It's a proven fact that the best communicators are not the best talkers; they are the best listeners. What to Say and How to Say It-based on the compelling research supporting emotional intelligence and the work of Daniel Goleman, author of Working with Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence-gives specific prompts or language helpful for entering, engaging in, and exiting courageous conversations. Courageous conversations are those discussions we all need to have, oftentimes with people we care about, don't care about, or need to care about. These are the conversations that will help us make it through difficult times, get over hurdles that are blocking relationship building, and improve living and working conditions for everyone involved. Skills in courageous conversations help to build emotional intelligence.

William and Carolyn Hines, together since high school, are the owners of a management consulting and training company that has been in continuous business for over twenty-five years. Much of their work comes through requests for teaching emotional intelligence skills, conflict management skills, leadership, executive coaching, and diagnostic team building.