Truth at Work: The Science of Delivering Tough Messages

Book excerpt: The truth matters! New York Times bestselling author Mark Murphy returns, with the latest science and techniques for delivering tough messages without causing anger or defensiveness. The greatest workplaces have one thing in common; they speak the truth! And they do it without causing anger, resentment, or defensiveness. Unfortunately, a whopping 80 to 90 percent of employees and managers are reluctant, or struggle, to speak the truth. New York Times bestselling author Mark Murphy provides the science and tools for calmly and rationally leading people to question their preconceptions, accept new information, and eventually change their beliefs. Truth at Work shows that by moving from confrontations to conversations, from feelings to facts, and from diatribe to dialogue, you can get everyone to hear and accept hard truths. You’ll learn: • How psychological phenomena like cognitive dissonance, the Dunning-Kruger effect, and selective perception cause people to deny, resist or attack the truth • How to delayer your conversations into 4 parts (Facts, Interpretations, Reactions, Ends) and which pieces you should and shouldn’t share • How the 5-part I.D.E.A.S. Script can make someone a willing participant in a truthful dialogue • How to assess if your current approach is too tough or too soft • A checklist for diagnosing whether you need a one-time talk or multi-conversation process • How Structured Listening helps you calmly and logically control volatile conversations • The 7 phrases that make people defensive (and what you should say instead) • And much more! Whether you’re trying to gain acceptance for a brilliant discovery, convince an employee to get to work on time, stop your coworker from being a jerk or urge your boss to tell you the truth about why they’re mad, Truth At Work makes even the toughest messages easy to hear.