While I can (and do) strike up conversations with strangers, it is sometimes difficult for me to talk to the ones I love most. Why? I have no fear talking to people I don't know, but I worry about maintaining harmonious relationships with my family, friends and coworkers.
The thing is, the more you avoid those hard conversations, the faster the situation can deteriorate, the harder it is to come back to a place of peace and understanding.
Author Susan Scott beautifully articulates this concept when she writes in the introduction, "In The Sun Also Rises [by Ernest Hemingway], a character drinking with friends in a bar is asked, 'How did you go bankrupt?' He answers, 'Gradually, then suddenly.'...Our careers, our companies, our relationships, and indeed our very lives succeed or fail, gradually, then suddenly, one conversation at a time."
Hence the need for fierce conversations. What is a 'fierce' conversation? "In its simplest form, a fierce conversation is one in which we come out from behind ourselves into the conversation and make it real." In fact, Ms. Scott (I think correctly notes) that a conversation IS a relationship. If the conversation stops...well, you can make that mental leap. But if the conversation flows...WOW!
If you are in any way like me, this book is for you. If you want and need to succeed in life, love, or career, you must start connecting with yourself and with those who are closest to you. Though it may be hard in the short term, it is a saving grace for the long term...and the more you practice the methods Ms. Scott details, the easier it will be to initiate ...and build upon...each conversation.
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