How to Have That Difficult Conversation

Gaining the Skills for Honest and Meaningful Communication

By: Henry Cloud, John Townsend

Narrated by: Tom Parks

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Full of practical tips and how-tos, this audiobook will help you make your relationships better, deepen your intimacy with people you care for, and cultivate more love, understanding, and respect between you and others.

Successful people confront well. They know that setting healthy boundaries improves relationships and can solve important problems. They have discovered that uncomfortable situations can be avoided or resolved through direct conversation. But most of us don't know how to have difficult conversations, and we see confrontation as scary or adversarial.

Authors Henry Cloud and John Townsend take the principles from their award-winning and best-selling book, Boundaries, and apply them to a variety of the most common difficult situations and relationships in order to:

• Show how healthy confrontation can improve relationships
• Present the essentials of a good boundary-setting conversation
• Provide tips on preparing for the conversation
• Show how to tell people what you want, stop bad behavior, and deal with counterattack
• Give actual examples of conversations to have with your spouse, your date, your kids, your coworker, your parents, and more!

This audiobook is a practical handbook on positive confrontation that will help you finally have that difficult conversation you've been avoiding.

A discussion guide is included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2015 Henry Cloud and John Townsend (P)2020 Zondervan

The Boundaries books are awesome!

The Boundaries books have helped me so much in dealing with the relationship issues I have had in my life. I love the real life scenarios and examples. I also love the Biblical perspective on everything. Super thankful to have these resources in audio form!

It works if you are willing to learn and self reflect

I have a reputation for effective communication and I am always striving to self improve. I got this book after accepting a department head position at work and it has been incredibly helpful at work and in my personal life. This book has gifted me with knowledge to build strong relationships that are truly meaningful- to the point that my fiancé thanked me and told me he feels so much closer to me after we have our difficult conversations. The most common thing that friends, colleagues and family come to me for is how to word something or how to communicate a negative emotion without starting a fight - I have my own insights but I also always suggest this book.

A must, MUST read!

First reading done and starting the second reading plus note taking! Awesome insight, wisdom, and understanding!

the last 2 chap

I works recommend this book for those who want to practice positive growth in relationships l.

Highly recommend

Excellent book, a very good follow up to Boundaries and Changes that heal. It gives a lot of insight to imbalance of power in ourselves that bleed into relationships.

Practical advice; good overall

The reader was pretty good, speech was clear. most of the book had practical advice. Some of the suggested interactions seemed like they could be taken passive aggressively, but overall it was good. My only gripe was on the parent section, but the gripe is big for me. Boundaries with parents is what I really needed, but I think that's the only boundary specific book that doesn't exist by the authors. So, I listened to the book and was looking forward to that chapter. Going through the chapter, I was nodding along, "ok yes, I did this" and "right, happy I did that right." The problem is, the chapter ends with a unique sentiment to all the other chapters. Basically, if they won't change and it's not abuse, try to deal with it. I have a pretty good relationship with my parents, but there's a not insignificant amount of enmeshment. What that means is, anytime I try to ask for the smallest amount of space or respect, my mother specifically, will behave as though I shot her directly through the heart with a flaming hot arrow and she'll never recover. Complete with fainting couch. She pulls out all the stops. All. The. Stops. She becomes passive aggressive, martyrs herself, belittles me, mischaracterizes me so as to make my points absurd, guilt trips me. If I have a hurt or a concern to express, no I don't. The original problem(s) isn't directly abusive, but her reaction to hearing about it certainly is. Ignoring the problem builds resentment in me. Any other scenario, the authors will suggest withdrawing when all else fails, but with parents, they suggest to just carry on. I don't want to be in my 60s and full of resentment for my mom like she is for hers. I know some things can't be fixed, but I needed the advice to go farther. Not just to basically give up on what I need (not want).

Buried religious rhetoric

I purchased this hopeful for a leadership and workplace guidepost, but got a religious marriage counseling-esque book.

Good read & practical!

This book has shown me how to have a difficult conversation with a friend concerning the status of our relationship. Having this talk helped to define where our relationship is at.

Helpful

I appreciate the Bible references. It’s a difficult subject to have a handle for. Lots of advice.

where I need to grow

I liked the information, but in particular the examples of how the difficult conversation and what could go right or wrong.