"A wonderful combination of coaching, consulting, and crafting a way of teaching us all to speak honestly in our relationships."
โAnn Lieberman, Senior Scholar
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
"Our teaching culture is adverse to conflict. Having tools like this will move education forward as a profession."
โMichael Grinder, National Director and Educational Consultant
NLP in Education
"This book has already changed my life. Just by reading it, my courage to have hard conversations has soared."
โBeth Madison, Principal
George Middle School, Portland, OR
Speak with clarity, confidence, and courage!
For many educators, confronting a colleague about a work-related issue can be a daunting matter. This insightful book helps educators speak with clarity and courage to directly address difficult situations within their schools.
Having Hard Conversations provides an interactive, personal approach to mastering the art of challenging conversations. The authorโฒs step-by-step strategy addresses a wide range of situations, including communication with supervisees, peers, and supervisors. Emphasizing that initiative and preparation are the keys to a successful conversation, this resource includes:
By addressing important issues directly and professionally, educators can find self-empowerment and promote an open, healthy school environment.
Consulting DescriptionJennifer Abrams is an international educational and communications consultant for public and private schools, hospitals, universities and non-profits. She trains and coaches teachers, administrators, nurses, hospital personnel and others on successful instructional practices, new employee support, supervision and evaluation, generational savvy, having hard conversations and effective collaboration skills.In Palo Alto USD (Palo Alto, CA), Abrams led professional development sessions and provided new teacher and supervisor trainings at both the elementary and secondary level. From 2000-2011, she was lead coach for the Palo Alto-Mountain View-Los Altos-Saratoga-Los Gatos Consortiumโs Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program. In her educational consulting work, she has presented at annual conferences such as Learning Forward, ASCD, NASSP, and the New Teacher Center Annual Symposium, as well as at the Teachersโ and Principalsโ Centers for International School Leadership. Her communications consulting in the health care sector includes training and coaching work at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula and Stanford Hospitals.Her publications include Having Hard Conversations, published by Corwin Press in 2009, the chapter โHabits of Mind for the School Savvy Leaderโ in Art Costaโs and Bena Kallickโs book Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind: 16 Essential Characteristics for Success, and contributions to the book Mentors in the Making: Developing New Leaders for New Teachers published by Teachers College Press. Her most recent book with co-author Valerie Von Frank, Generational Savvy: How to be Effective with Educators of All Generations, was published by Corwin Press in 2013.She considers herself a โvoice coach,โ helping others learn how to best use their voices, be it in a group, in front of a classroom, coaching a colleague, in a supervisory role and most recently in writing for the stage, as she does as a Board Member of the National New Play Network. Abrams holds a Masterโs degree in Education from Stanford University and a Bachelorโs degree in English from Tufts University. Watch clips of Abramsโฒ interview with NPRโฒs Claudio Sanchez, from the ASCD Master Class Leadership Series