Dear Crucial Skills, I have been noticing lately that nearly every conversation I have with my fifteen-year-old daughter turns crucial very quickly. Innocent suggestions, requests for help, questions about school—many, many topics are too close to the skin for my daughter. And despite my best efforts to “start with heart” and “make it safe,” I …

Dear Crucial Skills, I can’t believe I’m asking this question, because it seems antithetical to everything you talk about in your books, but is it ever possible to have a crucial conversation over the phone? So many of us are working in “virtual” companies, where much of the day-to-day work is done in conference calls …

Dear Crucial Skills, I was wondering if you could share your insights on a perplexing issue: How can I devise a plan to creatively/effectively communicate with workers on shift (those who can’t attend regular face-to-face meetings with supervisors, all-hands meetings with plant managers, etc.)? Our managers/supervisors are finding it hard to have crucial conversations with …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, In our school we have a teacher who is a bully. Others are afraid to confront her and the team atmosphere has suffered as a result. Word has now …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ron McMillan is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, How do I have a crucial conversation with people who have very low self esteems? I work in a fast-paced office, full of nurses, all of whom have been …

Dear Crucial Skills, I understand the importance of “creating safety” for the other party in a crucial conversation, but I find myself stuck most of the time because I’m the one who feels unsafe. If I’m the one who needs to initiate a crucial conversation, is there a way to create safety for myself as …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, “Consensus” is just a buzzword in our organization. We talk about making consensus decisions, but what really happens is that after everyone has shared input to the pool of …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, I have a coworker who is extremely overwhelmed by her workload. However, she is offered help periodically and always seems to find a reason why that help won’t work. …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kerry Patterson is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, Any advice for those of us caught in the role of “moderator” (willing or not) of a crucial conversation? Both as a manager of a team of high performing …

Dear Crucial Skills, Yesterday I led a discussion on crucial conversations with my ten-member corporate and public affairs team. When we examined everyone’s “Style Under Stress,” eight out of ten of my teammates discovered they go to silence. Do these results indicate a big concern for us because there is not an equal distribution of …