# Practical guides and curated reads for harder conversations

We find the best articles on feedback, difficult conversations, and management from around the web and collect them here with Peopling summaries — so you get the key ideas without the search.

## Resources

1. **[7 Best Apps to Practice Difficult Conversations](/content/resources/best-apps-to-practice-difficult-conversations/index.html)**  
   A comparison of the best AI-powered apps for practicing difficult workplace conversations, including roleplay tools, coaching platforms, and conversation simulators.

2. **[15 Principles for Managing Up](/content/resources/15-principles-for-managing-up/index.html)**  
   Concrete, operator-level guidance for building a stronger working relationship with your manager.

3. **[A Tactical Guide to Managing Up 30 Tips](/content/resources/a-tactical-guide-to-managing-up-30-tips/index.html)**  
   A tactical collection of upward-management advice for situations where stakes, power, and ambiguity are all high.

4. **[How to Have Difficult Conversations Without Burning Bridges](/content/resources/how-to-have-difficult-conversations-without-burning-bridges/index.html)**  
   A relationship-aware framework for handling tension directly without turning the conversation into a rupture.

5. **[How to Say No](/content/resources/how-to-say-no/index.html)**  
   Judd Antin's framework for saying no in a way that still feels collaborative, useful, and leadership-oriented.

6. **[Managing Your Boss](/content/resources/managing-your-boss/index.html)**  
   The classic managing-up article on treating your relationship with your manager as something you actively shape.

7. **[Never Split the Difference](/content/resources/never-split-the-difference/index.html)**  
   Chris Voss's negotiation framework for using tactical empathy, calibrated questions, and sharper tradeoff conversations when stakes are high.

8. **[Our 6 Must Reads for Cutting Through Conflict and Tough Conversations](/content/resources/our-6-must-reads-for-cutting-through-conflict-and-tough-conversations/index.html)**  
   A useful meta-list for people who want a broader reading stack on conflict, tension, and hard conversations at work.

9. **[Overcoming Your Fear of Giving Tough Feedback](/content/resources/overcoming-your-fear-of-giving-tough-feedback/index.html)**  
   A practical read for the emotional barrier behind avoided feedback, especially when you know what needs to be said but keep delaying it.

10. **[Practicing feedback with the Radical Candor framework.](/content/resources/radical-candor/index.html)**  
    Kim Scott's feedback framework for pairing direct challenge with real care, so feedback is clear without becoming cruel.

11. **[Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI)](/content/resources/situation-behavior-impact-sbi/index.html)**  
    A simple feedback structure that keeps criticism grounded in facts, observable behavior, and concrete impact.

12. **[Taking the Stress Out of Stressful Conversations](/content/resources/taking-the-stress-out-of-stressful-conversations/index.html)**  
    Why hard conversations spiral, and how better preparation lowers the emotional temperature before you even begin.

13. **[The Indispensable Document for the Modern Manager](/content/resources/the-indispensable-document-for-the-modern-manager/index.html)**  
    A strong argument for user guides and communication norms that prevent avoidable friction before it becomes conflict.

14. **[The Power of Performance Reviews](/content/resources/the-power-of-performance-reviews/index.html)**  
    A concrete framework for structuring performance conversations so they stay clear, fair, and useful.

15. **[What Good Feedback Really Looks Like](/content/resources/what-good-feedback-really-looks-like/index.html)**  
    A useful benchmark for what clear, actionable feedback sounds like when it is done well.

16. **[What People Get Wrong About Psychological Safety](/content/resources/what-people-get-wrong-about-psychological-safety/index.html)**  
    A clearer definition of psychological safety for people who want substance, not vague culture language.

17. **[When Managers Get Ready to Give Hard Feedback, They Do a Lot of Prep Work](/content/resources/when-managers-get-ready-to-give-hard-feedback-they-do-a-lot-of-prep-work/index.html)**  
    A concise articulation of the practice gap behind many workplace conversations that matter most.

18. **[Difficult conversation prep checklist](/content/resources/difficult-conversation-prep-checklist/index.html)**  
    A practical pre-meeting checklist for managers who want a hard conversation to stay clear, direct, and constructive.