Conversations Worth Having

A Unique Guide to Changing Our World of Conversation. Conversation is a crucial part of everything we do. It influences our well being—a good conversation can leave us ready for anything, a bad one can ruin our whole day. But most of us are unaware of the nature of our conversations, let alone how to make them consistently affirming and empowering. This book shows us how to use Appreciative Inquiry, one of the most effective and widely used approaches for fostering positive change, to dramatically improve the outcomes of our conversations. By focusing on what we want to happen instead of what we want to avoid, and asking questions to deepen understanding and increase possibilities, we expand creativity, improve productivity, and unleash potential, at work and home. “This book is for everyone, from managers striving to lead more effectively, to parents trying to cultivate better conversations with children.” Lindsey Godwin, Director, David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry “Wow! What a great book! I'm going to use it in my courses and with every client. It is rare to read a book that is so compelling and practical with simple guidelines anyone can use.” Gervase R. Bushe, Professor, Simon Fraser University, and author of Clear Leadership “A conversation is the smallest visible unit of change, our starting point for every important change effort. This book is a gift to the world, business, schools, and families!” Jon Berghoff, President, Flourishing Leadership Institute “A must read for all leaders. Practical wisdom and relatable stories!” Robert Easton, Senior Managing Director, Accenture “This short book is a rare gem—entertaining, relevant, educational, and immensely practical.!” Maureen McKenna, Founder, Return on Energy Jackie Stavros and Cheri Torres have been internationally recognized for their work with Appreciative Inquiry. They've positively affected the lives of thousands of people and helped hundreds of organizations improve their capacity to thrive in uncertain times. They have been researching, writing, consulting, and speaking on Appreciative Inquiry since 1996.

Conversations can be critical and destructive, or they can be generative and productive. This book shows how to guarantee your conversations will help people, organizations, and communities flourish. --

Now in a second edition, this classic book shows how to make conversations generative and productive rather than critical and destructive so people, organizations, and communities flourish. We know that conversations influence us, but we rarely stop to think about how much impact they have on our well-being and ability to thrive. This book is the first to show how Appreciative Inquiry—a widely used change method that focuses on identifying what's working and building on it rather than just trying to fix what's broken—can help us communicate more effectively and flourish in all areas of our lives. By focusing on what we want to happen instead of what we want to avoid and asking questions to deepen understanding and increase possibilities, we expand creativity, improve productivity, and unleash potential at work and home. Jackie Stavros and Cheri Torres use real-life examples to illustrate how these two practices and the principles that underlie them foster connection, innovation, and success. This edition has been revised throughout with new examples; updates on the latest supporting research in neuroscience, positive science, and positive psychology; and a discussion guide. It also features a new chapter on what the authors call tuning in: cultivating awareness of how our physical and mental state affect our perceptions, emotions, and thoughts as we engage in conversation. This book teaches you how to use the practices and principles of Appreciative Inquiry to strengthen relationships, build effective teams, and generate possibilities for a future that works for everyone.

Written by the two most recognized Appreciative Inquiry thought leaders A quick, accessible introduction to one of the most popular change methods today--proven effective in organizations ranging from Roadway Express and British Airways to the United Nations and the United States Navy Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a model of change management uniquely suited to the values, beliefs, and challenges of organizations today. AI is a process that emphasizes identifying and building on strengths, rather than focusing exclusively on fixing weaknesses as most other change processes do. As the stories in this book illustrate, it results in dramatic improvements in the triple bottom line: people, profits, and planet. AI has been used to significantly enhance customer satisfaction, cost competitiveness, revenues, profits, and employee engagement, retention, and morale, as well as organizations' abilities to meet the needs of society. This book is a concise introduction to Appreciative Inquiry. It provides a basic overview of the process and principles of AI along with exciting stories illustrating how organizations have applied AI and the benefits they have gained as a result. It has been specifically designed to be accessible to a wide audience so that it can be handed out in organizations where AI is either being contemplated or being implemented. Written by two of the key figures in the development of Appreciative Inquiry, this is the most authoritative guide available to a change method that systematically taps the potential of human beings to make themselves, their organizations, and their communities more adaptive and more effective.

Dynamic Relationships invites us to step into the appreciative paradigm where the principles governing our actions and relationships offer a means for increased value and meaning in our lives and communities of work and play.They empower us to become a force for creating and sustaining life-affirming relationships and success in daily living.

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

The 10th-anniversary edition of the New York Times business bestseller-now updated with "Answers to Ten Questions People Ask" We attempt or avoid difficult conversations every day-whether dealing with an underperforming employee, disagreeing with a spouse, or negotiating with a client. From the Harvard Negotiation Project, the organization that brought you Getting to Yes, Difficult Conversations provides a step-by-step approach to having those tough conversations with less stress and more success. you'll learn how to: · Decipher the underlying structure of every difficult conversation · Start a conversation without defensiveness · Listen for the meaning of what is not said · Stay balanced in the face of attacks and accusations · Move from emotion to productive problem solving

Thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition of Appreciative Inquiry offers OD and HR professionals a user-friendly resource for discovering how they can tap into the power of the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) process. An innovative process, AI is an effective way to work with a company as an organic system whose success depends on a holistic approach to connect that organization's human, technical, and organizational functions. This new edition meets the challenge of making the AI process accessible and updates three key areas of the process: the theoretical basis, fundamental assumptions and beliefs, and the basic processes. It includes step-by-step guidelines on how to apply AI in a variety of organizational situations and shows how it can be used with a wide range of initiatives, such as coaching, leadership development, strategic planning, and teambuilding. "If there's one book to read on AI, this is it. It provides the context and rationale for this paradigm changing approach to change at any level of system. Buy it, read it, use it and enjoy achieving great results and renewed energy and enthusiasm." —Barbara Sloan, director, Organizational Development and Learning, New York University, Langone Medical Center "Appreciative Inquiry brings the freedom and creativity of AI together with the 'nuts and bolts' of how to actually do it all. It contains everything I would want to have as a fresh practitioner, from potential designs to sample questions and excellent Case Stories." —David Shaked, founder and CEO, Almond Insight, United Kingdom "This book serves as a complete roadmap for those interested in the philosophy and practice of Appreciative Inquiry. The Case Stories encourage readers to find their own way on the journey by providing examples of successful interventions." —Terry Egan, professor, Management Studies, Pepperdine University