The Power of a Positive No Audiobook By William Ury cover art

The Power of a Positive No

How to Say No and Still Get to Yes

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The Power of a Positive No

By: William Ury
Narrated by: William Ury
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About this listen

No is perhaps the most important and certainly the most powerful word in the language. Every day we find ourselves in situations where we need to say no: to people at work, at home, and in our communities; because no is the word we must use to protect ourselves and to stand up for everything and everyone that matters to us.

But as we all know, the wrong no can also destroy what we most value by alienating and angering people. That's why saying no the right way is crucial. The secret to saying no without destroying relationships lies in the art of the Positive No, a proven technique that anyone can learn.

This indispensable audiobook will give you a simple three-step method for saying a Positive No. It will show you how to assert and defend your key interests; how to make your no firm and strong; how to resist the other side's aggression and manipulation; and how to do all this while still getting to yes. In the end, the Positive No will help you get not just to any yes but to the right yes, the one that truly serves your interests.

Based on William Ury's celebrated Harvard University course for managers and professionals, The Power of a Positive No offers concrete advice and practical examples for saying no in virtually any situation. Whether you need to say no to your customer or your coworker, your employee or your CEO, your child or your spouse, you will find in this book the secret to saying no clearly, respectfully, and effectively.

In today's world of high stress and limitless choices, the pressure to give in and say yes grows greater every day, producing overload and overwork, expanding e-mail and eroding ethics. Never has no been more needed. A Positive No has the power to profoundly transform our lives by enabling us to say yes to what counts: our own needs, values, and priorities.

©2007 William Ury (P)2007 Random House Inc.
Career Success Employment Personal Development Relationships Career Inspiring Suspenseful Thought-Provoking Difficult Customers
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Critic reviews

"His reminders to consider the other person's perspective while asserting your own position create a clear, unambiguous path to win-win situations." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Power of a Positive No

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Outstanding

I have listened to this book twice and bought the hard copy. Such 'uncommon' common sense as the author points out. This is a must read for both every day conflict resolution to world wide peace efforts. The examples given by the author are profound, pertinent, and life changing. A book for everybody regardless of your stage in life and regardless of socioeconomic status.

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4 people found this helpful

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Learning to say NO!

This was a pretty good listen. I had to read it for graduate school, but I really took quite a lot away from it... especially the importance of saying no in a more positive way and taking better care of yourself first. I’m not USUALLY into motivational books, but it’s worth a read if you’re anything like me... you just rarely say no, haha!

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1 person found this helpful

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Goes well with another book

This book is a very good technical complement to "How To Win Friends and Inflence People".

I recommend listening to the above book before this one. That way, you will have the tools to apply correctly the theory in this book.

I really liked the structure, the flow and the content of this audiobook. It talks about the cycle of a "No" and how to turn a negative "No" into a positive "No". The author gives us the tools and shows us how to recognize and act apropriately when a negative "No" is present.

I recommend this book.

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Amazing book

This book has changed a lot for me. It has been about a year since I have read it, and still, every day, I put it's easy principles into practice. Figure out what you want, then find the path to get there, then say "no" to anything that takes you away from that path. So easy, yet also so hard if you don't have a great way to think about it. This book has allowed me to really make a difference in my life. Thank you!

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Must Listen!!

how to say and give a positive no to get to yes!!!
I loved it.

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Engaging and well written.

In times of bipolar approaches to almost everything (good-bad, left-right, etc), this book brings a great way to find constructive alternatives for conflicting decisions. Having the former Brazilian president "Lula" as a good example was a great mistake. The man just left the jail and wait for further investigations on bribery and corruption. He is known in Brazil for his manipulative populist rhetoric.

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A must - read for ANYONE

A great book offering a practical to say no in difficult situations (and in any situation for that matter). Easy to grasp, and very very useful.

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great book excellent narration

well written with practical advice you can use on day 1. I will be better in my daily interactions because of this book.

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A great book on negotiation, communication and human nature.

We're all just trying to meet our needs -- for respect, for meaning, for autonomy, to be understood, for love, and for recognition. This great book builds a theory of negotiation upon this basic truth. In doing so, it maps out a clear and simple, if not necessarily easy, roadmap for successful negotiations -- that is, negotiations in which the humanity and needs of the other party are cared for even as we endeavor to meet our own needs. If things could be improved in any relationship of which you are a member, a read of this fine work is a good bet to help you move things in a positive direction, even if it means saying no to something the other party wants or is doing. The audiobook is expertly read by the author.

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Listened over and over again

This book has already helped me set boundaries with people without accommodating or harming my relationships. The narration sounds angry or almost scary at some points, so that would throw me off occasionally and some of the examples did not resonate with me because I’m not in business, but I could still learn and understand most of them.

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