Audible for Business: Three Tools for Tackling Tough Conversations

by Phil M. Jones

Genres: Business, Leadership, Management

Audiobook

About the author

Best-selling author and multiple award-winner Phil M. Jones is highly regarded as one of the world's leading sales trainers. He has trained more than two million people across five continents and fifty-six countries and coached some of the biggest global brands in the lost art of spoken communication. In 2013 he won the British Excellence in Sales and Marketing Award for Sales Trainer of the Year, the youngest-ever recipient of that honor. He has also written a series of best-selling books and developed a number of online training courses that have enrolled tens of thousands of members around the world. Phil divides his time between London and New York.

Reviews

[Rick Yvanovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is from Audible Business and is a quick 30 minutes listen

The author teaches us that there are 3 questions and he's linked it to 3 books.

Matilda - Roald Dahl
The Art of Coaching - Michael Bungay Stanier
Dare to lead - Brene Brown

They too are all great books and I can understand why the author says these are the 3 types of questions.

anyway no more spoilers, its a good listen.

[George Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt more like a workshop than a traditional book, and I mean that as both a compliment and a limitation.

The author presents a framework for tackling difficult conversations built around three key qualities: curiosity, empathy, and courage. Curiosity helps us ask better questions, empathy helps us understand the perspective and motivations of the other person, and courage helps us have the conversation in the first place. The framework is practical, easy to understand, and immediately applicable.

While I found the advice useful, I occasionally felt an underlying business and sales influence running through the book. Not overtly, but enough that I sometimes wondered whether empathy was being presented as a way of genuinely understanding others or as a means of achieving a desired outcome. To be fair, this tension is common in many books on communication, leadership, and negotiation.

Overall, the book delivers what it promises. The ideas are practical, relevant, and easy to apply. Although it wasn't quite the deeper exploration of difficult conversations I was hoping for, it remains a worthwhile read for anyone looking to improve their communication skills and approach challenging discussions with greater confidence.

[Biggest Little Book Talker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book with a clear and conscience concept of how to improve your conversation skills.
The author dives into the three tools for better conversation:
1. Curious
2. Empathy
3. Courage
I believe the examples given are moved that everyone can relate to and can be easily used to better conversation. The better you are at conversation the more you will be able to learn and create success.
You should approach conversation with curiosity to open possibilities. Then have empathy to allow yourself to hear and understand, while also opening yourself to the idea of failure. Have the courage to start a conversation and have even more courage to allow yourself to be vulnerable. If your are vulnerable you will be unable to form a connection and be unable to reach a deeper level of conversation.
We miss 100% of the opportunities we don’t take and questions that we don’t ask.
Don’t be afraid to start a conversation!

[Adriyana Grotseva · Rating 1 out of 5]

This “book” is unnecessary. Gives zero value and is pretty simple… Could have been 1-2 pages article. The author talks about how important conversations are and that his communication style is shaped by 3 books: Matilda by Roald Dahl (teaching you to be curious), The art of coaching by Michael Stainer (that you should be empathetic), Dare to lead by Brene Brown (that you should be bold). There are 7 questions to bring empathy that the author has collected:
1. What is on your mind?
2. And what else?
3. What is the real challenge for you?
4. What do you want?
5. How can I help?
6. If you are saying yea to this, what are you saying no to?
7. What was the most useful to you?
I find the questions too generic and some not very empathetic and kinda lazy - not giving more niche topic for the other person to think and respond.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this audiobook 3.5 stars. It's a short book with basic advice on starting conversations on difficult topics, like trying to find out what difficulties your customers are having. It's not so much about how to handle a tough conversation that erupts.

[Emmanuel Jefferies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ultimate message, use curiosity for everyday talk. Didn't exactly hold the business side of things like I expected.

[AttackGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leftists Self help

[Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

(review pending)

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the author's book report on 3 books 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Roselyn Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good synopsis with three book suggestions.

[Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the reference to and interpretation of "Matilda," and how the author artfully incorporated his interpretation of the book, which I thought was ingenious, into his book's thesis.