Ben Benjamin - Conversation Transformation: Recognize and Overcome the 6 Most Destructive Communication Patterns

Praise for
Conversation Transformation

A devastatingly insightful look at the ways we unwittingly sabotage our conversations, and as a result, our relationships. So spot on you begin to suspect the authors have been eavesdropping on your own most frustrating interactions. Especially when they then pipe up to provide the practical coaching you need to change old habits and transform your conversations. Hard work? Sure. Worth it? You bet.

Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone, bestselling authors of Difficult Conversations

This powerful, practical book shows you how to communicate and influence others in every area of your life.

Brian Tracy, bestselling author of The Psychology of Selling

Communication is the cornerstone of success in business. Conversation Transformation is filled with invaluable lessons, tips, and techniques to help any professional to avoid communication breakdowns and build loyal relationships.

Shep Hyken, bestselling author of The Amazement Revolution

Training in the ideas and skills in this book was great for me personally, as well as for our entire management teama diverse group of competitive, hard-driving executives. We learned a lot about ourselves and the impact of our communication on others, and we were able to smooth the transition of a difficult merger.

Steve Snider, former CEO, Exterran Corporation

Practical and down-to-earth, this book offers a detailed guide for changing the most common negative patterns of communication. It will be equally useful in business, professional, or private life, wherever people seek to resolve fruitless conflict and promote mutual problem-solving.

Judith Herman, M.D., bestselling author of Trauma and Recovery

In my work in healthcare, Ive experienced firsthand how conversations that end poorly can lead to suboptimal outcomes, conflict, and moral distress. While Ive typically thought of myself as a strong communicator, reading this book showed me just how much I could improve. As Ive worked through the clear, practical exercises, Ive been able to make positive changes for myself and those around me.

Rev. Angelika Zollfrank, Director of Clinical Pastoral Education, Massachusetts General Hospital

To live in a peaceful world each of us has to master the skills of collaboration and the ability to resolve conflict free of aggression either physical or verbal. Conversation Transformation contains the keys to begin that journey. I recommend it to anyone who wants to live in a world of love and compassion.

Lama Surya Das, bestselling author of Awakening the Buddha Within

Conversation Transformation is an invaluable work which outlines exactly how to use some basic strategies relevant for people seriously interested in improving their communication skills. This is a must-read book which anyone can profit from reading.

Susan Friedmann, CSP, bestselling author of Riches in Niches: How to Make It BIG in a Small Market

As I was reading Conversation Transformation, I began to think I need to recommend this book to my students... and my kids... and, well, everyone I know. This book is truly transformative. It can help improve not only the way we speak, but also the way we think.

Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior and The Four Purposes of Life

This is not an ordinary book; it is a tool. If you carry out the suggested exercises, it will help you to solve problems both at work and in your private life. It is easy to read, based on sound theory, and full of illuminating and moving examples.

Christer Sandahl, Professor of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden)

Transforming behaviors is no easy task as the authors of this book so clearly demonstrate. The book provides just what a person needs to be on the path for more successful conversations, dialogues, and ways to deal with disagreements. There are many helpful exampleseach scripted for practice. I would like to see every teacher develop these transformative conversations as they work with students. And, I would like to see every student equipped with these habits as they move through school and out into the demanding environment of the 21st century.

Bena Kallick, Ph.D., Co-Director, Institute for Habits of Mind

Conversation Transformation offers all students of communication, lay and professional, a rich menu from which to satisfy their intellectual appetites. I have an appetite for rigorous practice models linked with sound theories of how change takes place. The authors achieve this with meticulous care.

David Kantor, Ph.D., Director, Kantor Institute, and author of Reading the Room: Group Dynamics for Coaches and Leaders

AN INVITATION:

Visit www.ConversationTransformation.com right now to take our Conversation Skills Pretest and measure your level of communication savvy. When youre finished with the book, go back and take the posttest to measure how much youve learned.

Copyright 2012 by Ben Benjamin, Amy Yeager, and Anita Simon. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-177210-5
MHID: 0-07-177210-3

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