I attended a conference this week, and one of the workshops was entitled Fierce Conversations. It was all about the decline of the art of conversation, and how to improve our lives by reviving it. The facilitator asked us to define Fierce, and here were some words that came up: wild, dangerous, intense. She was surprised that our definitions seemed negative, but I wasn't. She saw it as meaning free and true. While Fierce can be freeing, it can also be scary (at least to those who were raised to be polite little girls like myself). Essentially, it boiled down to this: freeing ourselves to truly connect with another person through conversation can strengthen both parties and make the world a little bit better.
Whoa. Now, I have always been taught to be polite, hold my tongue, be diplomatic, don't bother people with what I need....WAIT a minute. How old am I again? I am no longer 6 years old, for cry-eye-eye. Fierce, eh? I guess I can learn to be fiercer. The thing is, that opening up to what is authentic and true and sharing that with others and then facing the changes that will result is kinda scary to me. What if we can't be friends any longer? What if I lose/leave my job? What if what if what if?
I'm going to have to ponder this for a bit. I may pick up the book Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success in Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time, by Susan Scott.
Has anyone out there read the book? Ideas or experiences to share along these lines? I'm open and ready to listen, and maybe even to fiercely speak!
