Leadership and the Art of Conversation: Conversation As a Management Tool

We speak. We listen. We chat. Lots of people know how to talk—but few know how to really communicate. Conversation is the most powerful yet underutilized tool at a manager?s command. If managers change the way they talk to people, they can become much more than effective managers—they can become great leaders.

Leadership and the Art of Conversation by Kim Krisco is a unique book that approaches the subject of conversation step by step. First it identifies the most productive aspects of conversation—including coaching, listening, managing, organizing, and even personal chat; then it shows readers how to put them to work.

?If you observe leaders,? says Krisco, ? one fact becomes immediately evident. They spend most of their time in conversation. Everything leaders accomplish is the result of their conversations. Change the kinds of conversations you have and you immediately become a more potent and effective leader.?

In Leadership and the Art of Conversation, Krisco covers everything managers need to converse more effectively, including:
• the basic tools and principles of effective conversations
• sample scripts and real-life examples
• making proper requests and dealing with nonresponses
• generating and maintaining commitment
• managing the flow of a conversation
• applying the eight conversational principles

Used wisely, conversation can be a manager?s most valuable asset.

About the Author

Kim H. Krisco is the internationally recognized speaker, lecturer, and trainer who developed the transition strategy that saw GTE through the largest merger in telecommunications history. The author of Leadership Your Way, he speaks to such groups as the AMA, the FDIC, and the International Business Conference.