Comebacks at Work
Using Conversation to Master Confrontation
By Kathleen Kelley Reardon; Christopher T. Noblet
(HarperBusiness, Hardcover, 9780061771026, 240pp.)
Publication Date: October 2010
Categories: Business Communication - General, Business Life - General
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The workplace guide to putting "I wish I'd said" moments in the past
Ever wish that you could have a "do over" after a conversation at work? Do you often find yourself regretting what you've said to a coworker—or kicking yourself for not saying something better, stronger, or more precise? If so, you're like most people, and in Comebacks at Work, management professor and consultant Kathleen Kelley Reardon, Ph.D., provides the tips and tools you need to know what to say—and how to say it better—next time.
In this compelling, entertaining book, Reardon argues that we are responsible for 75 percent of the way we're treated at work, and our success—or failure—at the workplace depends largely on how we handle ourselves in conversation with our colleagues. To break free of the stale scripts and expected actions that allow politically astute people to manipulate us, we must increase our conversational awareness and effectively employ what Reardon calls "comebacks." Comebacks at Work provides a game plan for doing so and explains:
- Why some comebacks work, while others fall flat;
- Why our mind goes blank when we are confronted, and how to overcome that response;
- How to determine which comebacks work, and when to use them.
Every conversation is different, and while many situations are common, one set of comebacks isn't enough. Offering a personalized repertoire of comebacks and a plan for using them strategically as well as the skills you will need to package them for maximum effect, Comebacks at Work will prepare you for any difficult conversation that comes your way.
Kathleen Kelley Reardon, Ph.D, is a professor of management at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California; a consultant and speaker at such major corporations as Pfizer, Siemens, Epson, IBM, News Corporation, and Toyota; and one of HuffingtonPost.com's signature and top bloggers, whose writing is frequently picked up and featured on Yahoo. She has appeared on Good Morning America with Charlie Gibson and Nancy Snyderman, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, and Bloomberg. She is the author of nine books, including The Secret Handshake, It's All Politics, and The Skilled Negotiator. Dr. Reardon is also a distinguished fellow of First Star, which advocates for the rights and education of children at risk. She lives in Rhode Island.
“A lively, encouraging book, bound to banish l’esprit d’escalier forever.”
-—Publishers Weekly
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