Comments on: Crucial Conversations

By: Dan S.

Dan S. — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:32:47 +0000

Thank you, Dr. Eades, for blogging about this book. I checked it out on Amazon and from one of its reviews I was led to a similar book, “Be Quiet Be Heard” which is excellent. It has helped my wife and I improve our communication and by consequence improve our lives. Thanks again for putting this on my radar.

And thanks for your recommendation. I’ll give it a look.

By: simon fellows

simon fellows — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:33:21 +0000

surely this lurches into Gazzaniga And Sperrys work ?

Don’t know them so I can’t say.

By: van

van — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:50:43 +0000

“…Two tiny organs seated neatly atop your kidneys pump adrenaline into your bloodstream. You don�t choose to do this. Your adrenal glands do it,…” Consider being bumped in the back of the heels with a shopping cart. You turn around about to become enraged and u realize it’s this little 5 year old girl. She’s smiling at you sheepishly, she can’t control the cart, with her little missing teeth. The pain subsides and there is no rage just sort of a chuckle. Now if the culprit was some jackass, then the adrenals would begin to pound. The point is, didn’t I choose?

By: Yuneek

Yuneek — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:48:42 +0000

“Countless generations of genetic shaping drive humans to handle crucial conversations with flying fists and fleet feet, not intelligent persuasion and gentle attentiveness.”

“(I always mistrust any book that presents X number of easy steps to master some complex skill.)”

Funny, but I always mistrust someone who is telling me my behavior is the result of my genetics. My genes made me do it is the scientist’s version of the devil made me do it, and no more useful. I’m not going to change my genes so what’s the point? feh

You’re not going to change your genes (although there is a building body of data that shows that the turning off and turning on of particular genes by diet, temperature and a host of other environmental factors is a reality), but you can certainly override them. Most primates in the wild urinate and defecate whenever and wherever the urge strikes them, which, in the case of the mountain gorilla, is even in their own beds. I’m pretty sure that we humans in our prehistoric days submitted to the same impulses. It’s still in our genes, yet most of us are able to hold off until we reach the appropriate facilities. So, despite it’s being in our genes, we have over come it without changing our genome.

When stressed, it’s in our genetic makeup to respond as the authors of the book stated. But we can overcome it, which is the point of the book.

Cheers–

MRE

By: simon fellows

simon fellows — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:35:43 +0000

Sir Hola..needing some kinda cal deficit to hook into fat stores what rough idea did you give yr patients vis the amount per day as deficit pleasum ? 300-500 ?

Hope all well etc

Hey Simon–

All is indeed well. It will be even better when we get back home. We’ve been on the road over the past week with quickie trips to Texas and South Carolina. Flying back tonight. Back at my desk tomorrow.

We’ve never advised our patients to cut calories a specific amount. Those who were having difficulty losing, we recommended cut their cheese, nuts and nut butters. That pretty much always did the trick.

But, the more calories you cut, the quicker you’ll lose. 300 or so cut per day should get rid of about a pound of fat per week.

Good luck. Keep me posted.

Cheers–

MRE

By: peter

peter — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:10:38 +0000

Dr. Mike,

I wonder if you’ve seen these studies on the need for Vitamin C supplementation:

http://conditioningresearch.blogspot.com/2008/01/antioxidants-do-more-harm-than-good.html

I understand that vitamin-c might be less imperative when eating a diet high in fat and low in carbs, but ever since i became familiar with the work of Linus Pauling, i’ve been taking anywhere from 3-6 grams of vitamin-C daily, in divided doses. Contrary to the linked studies, i increase my vitamin-c dosage on the days when i exercise, since i believe that intense exercise is a big stress to one’s immune system.

Vitamin C competes with glucose to get into the cells. When you go on a low-carb diet you decrease the need for vitamin C. A little goes a long way. I’m not a big fan of loading on large amounts of antioxidants because the body uses free radicals to do all kinds of things, and antioxidants don’t squelch just the ‘bad’ free radicals.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:19:51 +0000

For the person asking about sales, I would recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/0688128165

Actually, I’d recommend that book to anyone; It’s fascinating.

By: KB

KB — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:13:00 +0000

Very interesting Dr.Mike!! I am going out to get this book. I am excited to try this out on with my “Boss” and learn to recognize those “crucial conversations”.

Thanks!

Hey KB–

Unfortunately for you, your boss is also skilled in the use of the techniques in this book. Be careful.

Cheers–

Your boss

By: Rev Senor Quim Santos

Rev Senor Quim Santos — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:13:09 +0000

Fry-Up A Day Keeps Doug’s Doctor Away
Updated:08:20, Friday June 27, 2008

Who said fry-ups were bad for you? Not Douglas Terrey who has celebrated his 105th birthday with yet another full English breakfast.

Douglas Terrey tucks in
The great-grandfather, who was born in 1903, has downed a fry-up every morning for 91 years – that’s about 33,215 hearty breakfasts.

And he is still going strong.

“I have been eating a fried breakfast for years and years now,” he said.

“I think this kind of food is wholesome – like the food we used to have in the old days.”

The retired engineer eats four rashers of bacon, a sausage, two eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, black pudding and three slices of toast each morning.

And in a nod to healthy eating, he also wolfs down a bowl of cereal.

Mr Terrey, of Marchwood, near Southampton, Hants, began his routine of a fry-up a day when he joined the Army as a dispatch boy, aged 13.

“When I got my first job in the Army I would go to work on a good breakfast and I knew I wouldn’t get hungry,” he said.

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:15:07 +0000

Cool. It sounds like a very worthwhile read. Thank you both very much (again.)

..Todd