Part I of Crucial Conversations is what to do before you speak. The term “unbundling” is a triaging approach for interpersonal issues, and the book has a simple 3-level approach. The book tries to fit it into the acronym “CPR” but the ‘C’ is hard to remember, so I remember it like so:
- Situation - Is this the first time a problem has come up? Are you addressing what happened in a single situation?
- Pattern - Are there multiple examples of the problematic behavior?
- Relationship - Has the behavior started to impact the relationship? This can touch on concerns related to trust, competence, or respect.
