Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, Third Edition, 3rd Edition

It’s not how you play the game. It’s how the game plays you.

—SPY GAME (movie)

5

MASTER MY STORIES

How to Stay in Dialogue When You’re Angry, Scared, or Hurt

Here’s where we are in our Crucial Conversation:

•   We’ve recognized the conversation might be crucial (Chapters 1 and 2).

•   We’ve even zeroed in on the right conversation to address (Chapter 3).

•   We’ve thought about what we really want (Chapter 4).

We are almost ready to open our mouths. But not quite yet. We still have one problem to solve: We don’t feel like engaging in dialogue. What we feel like doing would forever eliminate the chance to run for public office.

As we learned in Chapter 2, one of the defining features of Crucial Conversations is strong emotions. Without these ...