⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Difficult Conversations by Stone

Full Title	Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
Authors	Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, Roger Fisher
Year Published	2000
Date Read	November 07, 2021
Rating	5/5 stars

Really great book, I ended up listening to it twice back-to-back. The framing of considering each party’s “contribution” to a problem is a really nice way of capturing the fact that in almost all disagreements, both individuals bear at least some responsibility for the current state of affairs (though, make sure not to see this as “blame”). I thought it was a great insight to mention that not all difficult conversations should actually happen — even opening such a conversation should come only after one has seriously considered if it is worth it. It’s also useful to be reminded of the presence of your own perception of your identity significantly impacting how you behave in such discussions.

While difficult conversations will never be easy, I found that this book presented a useful framework that would help them result in productive outcomes more frequently. Would recommend as a listen or a read.

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