
Foreword by Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone and Who's Got Your Back? The first make-or-break step in persuading anyone to do any thing is getting them to hear you out. Whether the person is a harried colleague, a stressed-out client, or an insecure spouse, things will go from bad to worse if you can't break through emotional barricades. Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist, business con sultant, and coach, and backed by the latest scientific research, author Mark Goulston shares simple but powerful techniques readers can use to really get through to people-whether they're coworkers, friends, strangers, or enemies. Just Listen reveals how to:Make a powerful and positive first impressionListen effectivelyMake even a total stranger-a potential client, perhaps-feel "felt"Talk an angry or aggressive person away from an instinctual, unproductive reaction and toward a more rational mindsetAchieve buy-in, the linchpin of all persuasion, negotiation, sales, and moreGetting through is a fine art but a critical one. With the help of this groundbreaking book readers will be able to turn the "impossible" and "unreachable" people in their lives into allies, devoted customers, loyal colleagues, and lifetime friends.
I think one of the things that's hard is that we are so used to always working, going, learning, building. We measure and improve. We commit, run, test, and deploy. We focus in on a particular thing and get really good at it.
But people aren't like that. They have feelings and emotions. They have a past and a history. They have fears and doubts. They have dreams and things that drive them. Some of those things which we cannot relate to. We can do all the right things and still end up getting hurt. They often don't respond the way we think and unlike compiled code, they can misunderstand what's being said or what's going on.
So, listen, ask questions, and treat others better than you'd treat yourself.
It is written by a psychiatrist who trains FBI hostage negotiators. Which is about as targeted as you can for hard conversations under difficult circumstances.