{"id":192504,"date":"2026-02-17T09:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=192504"},"modified":"2026-09-06T08:32:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T13:32:55","slug":"podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding"},"content":{"rendered":"

The awkward silence at work when everyone knows a project is going off the rails.
\nThe simmering resentment in a marriage over an issue neither spouse will confront.
\nThe dysfunction in a church where certain topics are understood to be off-limits.<\/p>\n

My guest, Joseph Grenny, says that some of the biggest problems in every organization, from businesses to families, aren’t the issues themselves, but people’s inability to talk about them. Joseph is a business social scientist and consultant, and the co-author of the bestselling book Crucial Conversations<\/em><\/a>. For decades, he\u2019s studied why people shut down or blow up when the stakes are high, emotions are strong, and opinions differ.<\/p>\n

Today on the show, we talk about what makes a conversation \u201ccrucial,\u201d why our brains betray us in conflict, and how to escape the false choice between maintaining a relationship and speaking honestly. From figuring out what kind of conversation you need to have, to creating the right conditions for connection, to dealing with criticism, we unpack how to have the conversations you\u2019ve been avoiding \u2014 at work, at home, and everywhere else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The awkward silence at work when everyone knows a project is going off the rails. The simmering resentment in a marriage over an issue neither spouse will confront. The dysfunction in a church where certain topics are understood to be off-limits. My guest, Joseph Grenny, says that some of the biggest problems in every organization, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,42379,42293],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","category-social","category-social-skills"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1-372x230.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"\nPodcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding | The Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Podcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding | The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The awkward silence at work when everyone knows a project is going off the rails. The simmering resentment in a marriage over an issue neither spouse will confront. The dysfunction in a church where certain topics are understood to be off-limits. My guest, Joseph Grenny, says that some of the biggest problems in every organization, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-17T15:17:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-06T13:32:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brett & Kate McKay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brett & Kate McKay\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brett & Kate McKay\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\"},\"headline\":\"Podcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-17T15:17:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-06T13:32:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":195,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/1105-1.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Podcast\",\"Social\",\"Social Skills\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/\",\"name\":\"Podcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding | The Art of Manliness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/1105-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-17T15:17:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-06T13:32:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/1105-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/1105-1.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/social\\\/social-skills\\\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Podcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Art of Manliness\",\"description\":\"Men's Interest and Lifestyle\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\",\"name\":\"Brett & Kate McKay\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Podcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding | The Art of Manliness","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Podcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding | The Art of Manliness","og_description":"The awkward silence at work when everyone knows a project is going off the rails. The simmering resentment in a marriage over an issue neither spouse will confront. The dysfunction in a church where certain topics are understood to be off-limits. My guest, Joseph Grenny, says that some of the biggest problems in every organization, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/","og_site_name":"The Art of Manliness","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness","article_published_time":"2026-02-17T15:17:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-06T13:32:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Brett & Kate McKay","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@artofmanliness","twitter_site":"@artofmanliness","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brett & Kate McKay","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/"},"author":{"name":"Brett & Kate McKay","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3"},"headline":"Podcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding","datePublished":"2026-02-17T15:17:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-06T13:32:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/"},"wordCount":195,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1.png","articleSection":["Podcast","Social","Social Skills"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2026","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/","name":"Podcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding | The Art of Manliness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1.png","datePublished":"2026-02-17T15:17:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-06T13:32:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1105-1.png","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/social\/social-skills\/podcast-1105-how-to-have-the-conversations-youve-been-avoiding\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Podcast #1,105: How to Have the Conversations You\u2019ve Been Avoiding"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/","name":"The Art of Manliness","description":"Men's Interest and Lifestyle","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3","name":"Brett & Kate McKay","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}