Conversations Worth Having, Second Edition

Conversations can be critical and destructive, or they can be generative and productive. This second edition will help you guarantee that your conversations will allow people, organizations, and communities to flourish. We all know that conversations influence us, but we rarely stop to think about how much impact they have on our well-being and our 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 not--can help us all 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 these two practices and the principles that underlie them. The second edition includes a new chapter on establishing the right mindset for appreciative conversations and a free discussion guide download. This book demonstrates how the practices and principles of Appreciative Inquiry strengthen relationships and generate possibilities for a future that works for everyone.