three conversations

By — on / Glossary

The notion that all difficult conversations carry a common underlying structure that can be divided into three distinguishable categories or “conversations”; 1) The “What Happened?” Conversation, 2) the Feelings Conversation, 3) and the Identity Conversation. (Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen, Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most [Viking/Penguin, 1999], 4, 7). See Also: Conflict Management at the Office, Negotiation Skills: Giving Feedback – Who Needs It? It Might Be You, Conflict Resolution Skills from the Home: How Conflict Management Skills Transform Discord Into Harmony.

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
501 Pound Hall
1563 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

pon@law.harvard.edu
tel 1-800-391-8629
tel (if calling from outside the U.S.) +1-301-528-2676
fax 617-495-7818