Difficult Conversations

Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen teach at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Negotiation Project. They have been consultants to businesspeople, governments, organizations, communities, and individuals around the world, and have written on negotiation and communication in publications ranging from the New York Times to Parents magazine. Bruce Patton is also a co-author of Getting to Yes. Each of them lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Stone and Heen are the authors of Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well (Even When It Is Off Base, Unfair, Poorly Delivered, and Frankly, You're Not in the Mood) (Viking/Penguin, 2014)

Roger Fisher is the Samuel Williston Professor of Law Emeritus, Director of the Harvard Negotiation Project, and the founder of two consulting organizations devoted to strategic advice and negotiation training.

Does this book deliver on its promise of an effective way through sticky situations, whether with your babysitter or your biggest client ? It does.
The New York Times

These talented communicators blend a daunting array of disciplines into highly readable and practical advice.
Booklist

I m on my third reading. Half the pages are dog-eared. This is a mind-bogglingly powerful book. For life.
Tom Peters

A user-friendly guide to mastering the talks we dread . . . a keeper.
Fast Company 

Emotional intelligence applied to life s toughest moments.
Daniel Goleman, bestselling author of Working with Emotional Intelligence

The only people who shouldn t read Difficult Conversations are those who never work with people, anywhere.
Peter M. Senge, bestselling author of The Fifth Discipline

How do you confront your ex-spouse who s late picking up the kids? How do you tell a client their project took longer than expected and the bill is twice as high? How do you say I m sorry ? Start by picking up Difficult Conversations.
Citizen

Difficult Conversations will be appreciated by readers who wish to improve oral communication in all aspects of their daily lives.
Library Journal

Stone, Patton, and Heen illustrate their points with anecdotes, scripted conversations and familiar examples in a clear, easy-to-browse format.
Publishers Weekly

The central insights of Difficult Conversations so resonate with common sense that it is easy to overlook just how remarkable of a book it is . . . a must-read.
Harvard Negotiation Law Review

Examples more clear-headed and advice more precise than we ve seen before.
Dallas Morning News

Stone, Patton, and Heen have written an extremely clear and unpretentious exposition of how to develop effective communication skills and a guide to achieving openness and constructive outcomes in dialogue . . . this