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For those who wish to learn or teach the tools of skillful communication, this book provides concrete insight into what makes a person a successful communicator and guides readers in ways to improve their own communication skills and those of others.Predicated on four simple notions – that communication can be done well or poorly, that communication skills matter, that people differ in those skills, and that those skills can be improved – the book helps readers identify and enhance their own communication strengths and address weaknesses, assess the communication skills of others, and coach others to improvement. Written in an accessible style, chapter highlights include an engaging review of the research on the practical implications of communication skills in our professional and personal lives. The nature of communication skill and issues in skill assessment are examined. Particular attention is given to understanding sources of communication-skill deficits and the design of effective communication-skill training programs. A final chapter examines the roles of technology, cross-cultural interaction, and aging as they relate to communication skill. This book is written for students and professionals in fields such as human resources, sales, training, counseling, customer relations, education, health-care, and the ministry, with application for courses in professional communication, applied communication, and communication skills at the undergraduate, advanced professional degree, and continuing education levels.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLERRelationship teacher, coach, and founder of The Relationship School Jayson Gaddis reveals the origins of conflict styles, how to stop avoiding difficult conversations, and how to resolve conflict in our most important relationships. Conflicts in our closest relationships are scary because so much is at stake. If the conflict doesn't go well, we could lose our marriage, our family or our job, all connected to our security and survival. So we do just about anything not to lose those relationships, including avoid conflict, betraying ourselves or becoming dishonest. Unresolved conflict affects every single aspect of our lives, from self-confidence to physical and mental health. Jayson Gaddis is a personal trainer for relationships and one of the world's leading authorities on interpersonal conflict. For almost two decades, Gaddis has helped individuals, couples, and teams get to the bottom of their deepest conflicts. He helps people see the wisdom in conflict and how to get to zero—which means we have successfully worked through our conflict and have nothing in the way of a good connection. In Getting to Zero, Gaddis shows the reader how to stop running away from uncomfortable conversations and instead learn how to work through them. Through funny personal stories, uncomfortable examples, and effective tools and skills, he shows the reader how to move from disconnection to connection, acceptance, and understanding. This method upgrades the old tired and static conflict resolution approaches and offers a fresh, street-level, user-friendly road map on exactly how to work through conflict with the people you care most about.

'That isn't what I meant!'Truly listening and being heard is far from simple, even between people who care about each other. This perennial bestseller--now revised and updated for the digital age--analyzes how any conversation can go off the rails and provides essential skills for building mutual understanding. Thoughtful, witty, and empathic, the book is filled with vivid stories of couples, coworkers, friends, and family working through tough emotions and navigating differences of all kinds. Learn ways you can: •Hear what people mean, not just what they say. •Share a difference of opinion without sounding dismissive. •Encourage uncommunicative people to open up. •Make sure both sides get heard in heated discussions. •Get through to someone who never seems to listen. •Ask for support without getting unwanted advice. •Reduce miscommunication in texts and online. From renowned therapist Michael P. Nichols and new coauthor Martha B. Straus, the third edition reflects the huge impact of technology and social media on relationships, and gives advice for talking to loved ones across social and political divides

A “meticulously researched and buoyantly written” (Esquire) look at what happens when we talk to strangers, and why it affects everything from our own health and well-being to the rise and fall of nations in the tradition of Susan Cain's Quiet and Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens“This lively, searching work makes the case that welcoming ‘others'isn't just the bedrock of civilization, it's the surest path to the best of what life has to offer.”—Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Homeland ElegiesIn our cities, we stand in silence at the pharmacy and in check-out lines at the grocery store, distracted by our phones, barely acknowledging one another, even as rates of loneliness skyrocket. Online, we retreat into ideological silos reinforced by algorithms designed to serve us only familiar ideas and like-minded users. In our politics, we are increasingly consumed by a fear of people we've never met. But what if strangers—so often blamed for our most pressing political, social, and personal problems—are actually the solution?In The Power of Strangers, Joe Keohane sets out on a journey to discover what happens when we bridge the distance between us and people we don't know. He learns that while we're wired to sometimes fear, distrust, and even hate strangers, people and societies that have learned to connect with strangers benefit immensely. Digging into a growing body of cutting-edge research on the surprising social and psychological benefits that come from talking to strangers, Keohane finds that even passing interactions can enhance empathy, happiness, and cognitive development, ease loneliness and isolation, and root us in the world, deepening our sense of belonging. And all the while, Keohane gathers practical tips from experts on how to talk to strangers, and tries them out himself in the wild, to awkward, entertaining, and frequently poignant effect.Warm, witty, erudite, and profound, equal parts sweeping history and self-help journey, this deeply researched book will inspire readers to see everything—from major geopolitical shifts to trips to the corner store—in an entirely new light, showing them that talking to strangers isn't just a way to live; it's a way to survive.

With eight billion people in the world, why is it so hard to meet and make new friends? Navigating the world of adult friendships can be a real challenge when everyone is busy, overwhelmed, or too often too far away. Here to help are Jenn Bane and Trin Garritano, the duo behind the cult favorite podcast Friendshipping. Insightful, empathetic, and just a touch irreverent, Jenn and Trin give readers the tools they need to make new friends and revitalize the quality of existing friendships. The book covers it all: Meeting new peopleMastering the art of small talkDeciphering the levels of friendship in the workplaceMaking the first friend move, plus how to give a non-creepy compliment You'll also learn why it's important to use the same IRL etiquette when making friends online; how to decide if a friendship is toxic and know when it's time to move on; and most important, how to be a better friend, to yourself and others.

When what you think you know gets in the way—this eye-opening guide offers a clear path to forging stronger, healthier, and more meaningful relationships.We all want positive, productive, and genuine relationships—whether it's with our family, friends, peers, coworkers, or romantic partners. And yet, time and time again, we all seem to make the same thinking errors that threaten or sabotage these relationships. These errors are called cognitive bias, and they happen when our brain attempts to simplify information by making assumptions.Grounded in evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), The Blindspots Between Us reveals the most common “hidden” cognitive biases that blind us to the truth, and which lead to the misunderstandings that damage our relationships. With this guide, you'll learn key skills to help you debias—to stop, pause, and objectively observe situations before jumping to conclusions about others'motives. You'll also learn to consider other people's points of view and past experiences before rushing to judgment and potentially undermining your relationships.Being a human is hard. None of us are perfect, and we all have our blindspots that can get in the way of building the relationships we really and truly want, deep down. This much-needed book will help you identify your own blindspots, and move beyond them for better relationships—and a better world.

“Chad Ford reminds us that humanity lies within all of us, and although conflict is everywhere in today's world, we have the tools we need to overcome obstacles and to thrive. This is a fantastic, timely book that I highly recommend."-Steve Kerr, Head Coach, Golden State WarriorsKnowing how to transform conflict is critical in both our personal and professional lives. Yet, by and large, we are terrible at it. The reason, says longtime mediator Chad Ford, is fear. When conflict comes, our instincts are to run or fight. To transform conflict, Ford says we need to turn toward the people we are in conflict with, put down our physical and emotional weapons, and really love them with the kind of love that leads us to treat others as fellow human beings, not as objects in our way. We have to open ourselves up with no guarantee that anyone on the other side will do the same. While this can feel even more dangerous than conflict itself, it allows us to see the humanity of others so clearly that their needs and desires matter to us as much as our own. Ford shows dangerous love in action through examples ranging from his work in the Middle East to a deeply moving story about reconciling with his father. He explains why we disconnect from people at the very time we need to be most connected and the predictable patterns of justification and escalation that ensue. Most importantly, he gives us a path to practice dangerous love in the conflicts that matter most to us.

When we disagree about fundamental issues, especially issues such as politics or religion, it can be incredibly difficult to maintain close interpersonal relationships. These differences have ended friendships and caused rifts in families. We need a tool to help us build more resilient relationships despite real and present differences. In Brave Talk, communications expert Melody Stanford Martin offers just such a tool: impasse. By learning to treat every conflict as if it's an impasse and temporarily suspend our desire to resolve differences, we make space for deeper understanding and stronger ties.Brave Talk offers hands-on skill-building in critical thinking, power sharing, and rhetoric. Combining real-life storytelling, engaging illustrations, and rigorous academic sources, this book blends humor, creativity, and interactive learning to help everyday people develop better skills for navigating conflict in order to build stronger relationships and healthier communities.

A fresh approach to matters of the heart, Relationships offers practical skills and new attitudes for a more mature vision of love. Since around 1750, we have been living in the era of Romanticism, which has shaped the way we approach love, marriage, and sex. When it comes to love, this book argues, Romanticism has been a disaster. Full of real-life examples, lively humor, and cultural anecdotes, Relationships teaches us: That love and sex may not always go together (and that's OK)That discussing money early on, in a serious way, is not a betrayal of loveThat acknowledging respective flaws can be a couple's superpowerThat we will never find everything we need in another personThat spending two hours discussing whether bathroom towels should be hung up or can be left on the floor has its own dignityWith wisdom, wit, and compassion, this innovative guide paves the way to a new, brighter future for love.LEARN THE SKILL OF LOVE a refreshing, skills-based take on how to approach relationships.PRACTICAL RELATIONSHIP ADVICE that challenges many preconceived assumptions.HARDCOVER WITH RIBBON MARKER beautifully produced, premium gift format.

Navigate the challenges of a blended family with children to fortify your marriage for lasting happiness and understanding. The Happy Stepcouple is a comprehensive and practical self-help book designed to help couples with children from prior relationships thrive despite the complexity of stepfamily life. More than two thirds of stepcouple relationships break up within the first few years of committing to each other. With these terrible odds, every stepcouple needs an arsenal of tools necessary to sustain a loving relationship. The Happy Stepcouple gives them everything they need to navigate complex stepfamily dynamics with confidence and kindness, allowing them to build a happy, fulfilling life together.Drawing on the insights and strategies developed from the author's 30 years of working as a marriage and family therapist specializing in treating stepfamilies, this work also includes the personal accounts of many stepcouples who describe their stepfamily problems along with how they handled them.Utilizing the most current research in attachment theory, psychology, communication, and marriage and family therapy, Rachelle Katz offers a grounded approach to overcoming problems stepcouples experience by examining the two primary reasons why so many of these relationships get in trouble: Partners'inability to understand, agree to, and fulfill each other's unspoken needs and expectations, and communication styles during conflicts that increase each partner's insecurity levels and weakens their emotional connection to each other. Both of these factors fray emotional bonds—bonds that already are stressed by stepfamily challenges. Here, stepcouples learn how to establish realistic stepfamily expectations as well as identify and modify harmful communication patterns, essential elements needed to strengthen their emotional bond.

Addressing the most common workplace relationship challenges, this manual shows how to use the principles of nonviolent communication to improve any workplace atmosphere. Offering practical tools that match recognizable work scenarios, this guide can help all employees positively affect their work relationships and company culture, regardless of their position. This handbook displays proven communication skills for effectively handling difficult conversations, reducing workplace conflict and stress, improving individual and team productivity, having more effective meetings, and giving and receiving meaningful feedback, thereby creating a more enjoyable work environment.

Is Your Networking Net Working? is the how-to guide for professionals and entrepreneurs to become their own center of influence using a unique and exciting business networking strategy. Like it or not, everyone needs to meet more people. Professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners need to network in order to get their name, face, product, or service out in front of the public. They need a constant flow of new, quality prospects and clients in order to become a high-profile, sought-after, respected professional. Financial service professional John Dade emphasizes the importance of business networking to business and income growth. He reveals how it doesn't have to be a chore or stressful endeavor. Is Your Networking Net Working? serves as a step by step guide for readers to build their own networking group based on their likes and passions and how to become their own center of influence and Go To Person. For anyone looking for a way to network, or even those who think they aren't the networking type, this guide helps them build relationships and get better results.

A Unique Guide to Changing Our World of Conversation. Conversation is a crucial part of everything we do. It influences our well being—a good conversation can leave us ready for anything, a bad one can ruin our whole day. But most of us are unaware of the nature of our conversations, let alone how to make them consistently affirming and empowering. This book shows us how to use Appreciative Inquiry, one of the most effective and widely used approaches for fostering positive change, to dramatically improve the outcomes of our conversations. By focusing on what we want to happen instead of what we want to avoid, and asking questions to deepen understanding and increase possibilities, we expand creativity, improve productivity, and unleash potential, at work and home. “This book is for everyone, from managers striving to lead more effectively, to parents trying to cultivate better conversations with children.”Lindsey Godwin, Director, David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry“Wow! What a great book! I'm going to use it in my courses and with every client. It is rare to read a book that is so compelling and practical with simple guidelines anyone can use.”Gervase R. Bushe, Professor, Simon Fraser University, and author of Clear Leadership “A conversation is the smallest visible unit of change, our starting point for every important change effort. This book is a gift to the world, business, schools, and families!”Jon Berghoff, President, Flourishing Leadership Institute“A must read for all leaders. Practical wisdom and relatable stories!”Robert Easton, Senior Managing Director, Accenture“This short book is a rare gem—entertaining, relevant, educational, and immensely practical.!”Maureen McKenna, Founder, Return on EnergyJackie Stavros and Cheri Torres have been internationally recognized for their work with Appreciative Inquiry. They've positively affected the lives of thousands of people and helped hundreds of organizations improve their capacity to thrive in uncertain times. They have been researching, writing, consulting, and speaking on Appreciative Inquiry since 1996.

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York's work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There's a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don't know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You'll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you're being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate's loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday partyPraise for Ask a Manager“A must-read for anyone who works... [Alison Green's] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author's friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers'lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green's Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

Learn how to persuade cats—the world's most skeptical and cautious negotiators—with this primer on rhetoric and argument from the New York Times bestselling author of Thank You for Arguing!Cats are skilled manipulators who can talk you into just about anything without a single word (or maybe a meow or two). They can get you to drop whatever you're doing and play with them. They can make you serve their dinner way ahead of schedule. They can get you to sit down in an instant to provide a lap. On the other hand, try getting a cat to do what you want....While it's hard, persuading a cat is possible. And after that, persuading humans becomes a breeze, and that is what you will learn in this book. How to Argue with a Cat will teach you how to:· Hold an intelligent conversation—one of the few things easier to do with a cat than a human.· Argue logically, even if your opponent is furry and irrational.· Hack up a fallacy (the hairball of logic).· Make your body do the talking (cats are very good at this).· Master decorum: the art of fitting in with cats, venture capitalists, or humans.· Learn the wisdom of predator timing to pounce at the right moment.· Get someone to do something or stop doing it.· Earn any creature's respect and loyalty.

Gifts from the Heart is a friendly, concise, and easy-to-read book that helps students learn, practice, and improve ten fundamental communication skills needed for any long-term relationship. Each skill is presented as a “gift” for students to give to others, rather than as a behavior to implement, empowering students to participate more fully in their relationships. With a conversational and student-friendly writing style, each chapter focuses on one essential communication skill that can dramatically enhance students'connections with their romantic partners, family members, and friends. The book uses simple language, memorable concepts, and practical exercises to present communication techniques that can be used by those hoping to improve specific relationships and by all those who want to offer “gifts” to others in their lives.The third edition of Gifts from the Heart includes new material on using digital technology to enhance and strengthen interpersonal relationships, while minimizing technological barriers to face-to-face interactions.

Beat Depression and Improve Your Relationships When it comes to treatment for depression, we have been getting it all wrong. Instead of focusing on just the biochemistry, we need to focus on the importance of relationships. Feeling Better offers a step-by-step guide using a research-proven approach called interpersonal psychotherapy, or IPT, which can help you deal with the issues that may be contributing to your unhappiness. Therapists Cindy Stulberg and Ron Frey have used IPT with clients for more than twenty years and achieved dramatic, lasting results after only eight to twelve weeks. They have now created this accessible, first-of-its kind guide. Feeling Better teaches skills and tools that will allow you to set and achieve goals, articulate feelings, and make constructive decisions. You'll learn to identify and engage with allies and supporters, deal with difficult people, and, if need be, walk away from harmful relationships. Cindy and Ron have taught clients — diagnosed with depression or not — to use these skills in virtually every life situation, from preventing divorce to “consciously uncoupling,” raising healthy children, coping with loss, and dealing with addiction. Writing with wisdom, warmth, and humor, they are savvy coaches and inspiring cheerleaders who can offer a lifeline to the depressed and life enrichment to anyone.

Two veteran psychiatrists unravel the mystery of how thought and emotional patterns are passed from parents to children, generation after generation,'conditioning'each of us in ways that endure throughout our lives and affect all of our relationships.Living on Automatic not only introduces the concept of emotional conditioning, including how it occurs and becomes entrenched in our minds, but also explains how individuals can'decondition'themselves to become more adept at choosing and negotiating more rewarding relationships. Authored by two psychiatrists, the text draws from more than 80 years of their combined psychotherapy work with thousands of people. The authors focus on helping readers to understand their roles in relationships and to develop more rewarding relationships. Case studies and questions are provided to illustrate emotional conditioning and the personality roles that emerge from it. Readers will learn why people choose the mates that they do; why the ways we learn to relate as children often do not change later in life; and how to observe and engage in introspection to begin to decondition themselves from auto-pilot, knee-jerk emotional responses, allowing for the formation of better relationships with their spouse or partner, children, and other family members.

This astrological relationship guide is indispensable for dealing with everyone from friends and family to bosses and coworkers. Steer your life by the stars and make all your interpersonal relationships shine. This beautifully designed, horoscope-driven handbook will teach you to bring energy to your relationships and divine the true nature of personalities using the power of astrology. Do you know how to live peacefully with a Taurus? Discuss money issues with a Cancer? Improve your sex life with a Scorpio? With chapters arranged by astrological sign, The Astrology of You and Me will give you help and guidance for every imaginable star-crossed situation, and the beautiful design features astrology-inspired illustrations throughout.

A guide to learning how to communicate with people who have diametrically opposed opinions from you, how to empathize with them, and how to (possibly) change their mindsAmerica is more polarized than ever. Whether the issue is Donald Trump, healthcare, abortion, gun control, breastfeeding, or even DC vs Marvel, it feels like you can't voice an opinion without ruffling someone's feathers. In today's digital age, it's easier than ever to build walls around yourself. You fill up your Twitter feed with voices that are angry about the same issues and believe as you believe. Before long, you're isolated in your own personalized echo chamber. And if you ever encounter someone outside of your bubble, you don't understand how the arguments that resonate so well with your peers can't get through to anyone else. In a time when every conversation quickly becomes a battlefield, it's up to us to learn how to talk to each other again. In Talking Across the Divide, social justice activist Justin Lee explains how to break through the five key barriers that make people resist differing opinions. With a combination of psychological research, pop-culture references, and anecdotes from Justin's many years of experience mediating contentious conversations, this book will help you understand people on the other side of the argument and give you the tools you need to change their minds--even if they've fallen for'fake news.'

365 quotes, insights, and journaling prompts for the blossoming introvert.The Year of the Introvert is a seasonal daybook and journal that takes introverts on a true adventure in introspection and self-care, 365 days of the year. With each page of daily insight, Michaela Chung provides an interactive roadmap for introverts who wish to embrace who they are and live a fulfilling—and powerful!—life on their own quiet terms.Within these pages, you'll discover quotes, prompts, and inspirational essays to propel you toward greater self-awareness, and self-love. Along the way, you'll receive daily morsels of wisdom to strengthen your relationships, develop authentic confidence, survive the holidays, and truly blossom in your own introverted way.Ask introspective questions to awaken your inner adventurerGet tips on how to love your introversion and yourselfLearn how to cut through small talk and truly connectBe quietly magnetic in your romantic relationshipsBuild cozy living spaces that will replenish your energyAnd more!The Year of The Introvert is the ideal introvert's companion for navigating the challenges and joys of being an introvert in an extrovert's world. Reflect on your quiet strengths, water your natural wellspring of creativity, and take ownership of your “innie” life!

Are you a good listener? How well do you really know the people around you? A capacity for empathic understanding is hard-wired in our brains, but its full expression involves particular listening skills that are seldom learned through ordinary experience. Through clear explanation, specific examples, and practical exercises, Dr. Miller offers a step-by-step process for developing your skillfulness in empathic listening. With a solid basis in sixty years of scientific research, these communication skills are not limited to professionals, and can be learned and applied in your everyday life. Instead of assuming that you know the meaning of what you think you heard, empathic listening lets you develop a more accurate understanding and prevent miscommunication. Empathic understanding can help to deepen personal relationships, alleviate conflict, communicate across differences, and promote positive change. The author also discusses skills for expressing yourself clearly, and for strengthening close relationships and friendships. Through empathic understanding you have access to life experience far beyond your own, and over time, listening well and deeply becomes a way of being, fostering a compassionate and patient acceptance of human frailties--those of others as well as your own.

Forged in the secretive world of covert operations, Unlocking Secrets uses real crime and practical examples to reveal the new frontier in interpersonal communications: advanced psychological skills. Thanks to this book, these skills can now be used by anyone who wants to improve their interpersonal and communication repertoire. In Unlocking Secrets, David Craig has simplified the psychological methods used so effectively by criminal investigators and covert operatives to persuade others to reveal their secrets. He shows how these skills can be easily applied to benefit in everyday professional and personal situations. These secret-revealing techniques subtly influence people to share hidden information, and may assist people working with patients, clients, children or friends who carry a difficult and burdensome secret. They can also be used to improve business knowledge, as well as to initiate and enrich personal relationships. Unlocking Secrets will arm people with the latest interpersonal skills to enrich their personal life and advance professional careers.

An introvert guide and manifesto for all the quiet ones—and the people who love them.Is there a hidden part of you that no one else sees? Do you have a vivid inner world of thoughts and emotions that your peers and loved ones can't seem to access? Have you ever been told you're too “quiet,” “shy,” “boring,” or “awkward”? Are your habits and comfort zones questioned by a society that doesn't seem to get the real you? If so, you might be an introvert. On behalf of those who have long been misunderstood, rejected, or ignored, fellow introvert Jenn Granneman writes a compassionate vindication—exploring, discovering, and celebrating the secret inner world of introverts that, only until recently, has begun to peek out and emerge into the larger social narrative. Drawing from scientific research, in-depth interviews with experts and other introverts, and her personal story, Granneman reveals the clockwork behind the introvert's mind—and why so many people get it wrong initially. Whether you are a bona fide introvert, an extrovert anxious to learn how we tick, or a curious ambivert, these revelations will answer the questions you've always had:What's going on when introverts go quiet?What do introvert lovers need to flourish in a relationship?How can introverts find their own brand of fulfillment in the workplace?Do introverts really have a lot to say—and how do we draw it out?How can introverts mine their rich inner worlds of creativity and insight?Why might introverts party on a Friday night but stay home alone all Saturday?How can introverts speak out to defend their needs?With other myths debunked and truths revealed, The Secret Lives of Introverts is an empowering manifesto that guides you toward owning your introversion by working with your nature, rather than against it, in a world where you deserve to be heard.

Expert advice on building resilience and strong relationships—without draining yourself.Introverts may not want to go out and party every night—but that doesn't mean they don't want to meet people, have fun, and build secure, loving relationships. This guide is designed to help introverted individuals grow and nurture their peace, purpose, and bonds with others, in ways that work for them.Author, speaker and life coach Brenda Knowles presents eight unique practices to help readers learn that they are not alone or flawed in their sensitivity and introversion, and that they are capable of creating and maintaining relationships. Certified as a Myers-Briggs practitioner and trained in family mediation, Knowles reveals how these practices can yield:A calmer sense of selfA deeper understanding of mental and physical self-careAn understanding of the purpose of conflictGrowth in relationship responsivenessThe secret to healing every day

'A toolbox full of wisdom, an urgent starting point in finding possibility, potential, and power in the people around you.'—Seth Godin, author of Linchpin Fans of Crucial Conversations, The Speed of Trust, Radical Candor, and The Five Dysfunctions of a Team will love Get Better, a guide to cultivating relationships and building them into your organization's greatest assets. From the business experts that brought you The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Strengthen relationships and improve communications skills: In Get Better: 15 Proven Practices to Build Effective Relationships at Work, Chief People Officer Todd Davis moves beyond the adage that an organization's greatest assets are its people. Instead, he argues that relationships drive professional and personal effectiveness—and, in the end, create a culture that can become an organization's competitive advantage. Improve your emotional intelligence and become the ideal team player: In an approachable, engaging style, using real-world stories, Davis uncovers the most common relationship pitfalls that hurt careers and negatively affect organizational results. From his experience observing, leading, and coaching others for more than thirty years, David identifies fifteen proven practices that anyone at any level of an organization can apply to be successful at work, improve business results, and truly master effective relationships. Readers will learn how to: -Behave their way to credibility -Think “we,” not “me” -Take stock of their emotional bank accounts -Examine their real motives -Do less talking and more active listening -Make it safe to tell the truth and have difficult conversations -Start with humility, and much more! Master communication, understand your emotions, and build effective relationships with Get Better.

The author of the most well-known and trusted relationship book of all time returns with an updated guide for today's generation.Two decades ago, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus revolutionized the way we thought about love and partnership. John Gray's work has helped countless readers improve and even save their relationships. But as society evolves, relationships do, too. It's time to move beyond Mars and Venus, toward a new relationship model for modern couples.Today, men and women are no longer trapped by rigid societal roles. Now more than ever, we have the freedom to be our authentic selves. Women can access their masculine side, and men can embrace their feminine side. This new freedom is a good thing, but it also brings new challenges.Men and women still need the right tools and skills to help build stronger relation- ships. While previous generations sought'role mate'relationships, based on the more rigid gender roles of the time, today's couples need a new kind of relationship: a'soul mate'relationship. These more emotionally satisfying relationships require a deeper understanding of our partners'individual needs. In Beyond Mars and Venus, Gray teaches you how to strengthen your bond and grow in love together, so you and your loved one can meet each other's needs in the best way possible, bringing you lasting happiness and a fulfilling partnership.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Award-winning actor Alan Alda tells the fascinating story of his quest to learn how to communicate better, and to teach others to do the same. With his trademark humor and candor, he explores how to develop empathy as the key factor.“Invaluable.”—Deborah Tannen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of You're the Only One I Can Tell and You Just Don't Understand Alan Alda has been on a decades-long journey to discover new ways to help people communicate and relate to one another more effectively. If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? is the warm, witty, and informative chronicle of how Alda found inspiration in everything from cutting-edge science to classic acting methods. His search began when he was host of PBS's Scientific American Frontiers, where he interviewed thousands of scientists and developed a knack for helping them communicate complex ideas in ways a wide audience could understand—and Alda wondered if those techniques held a clue to better communication for the rest of us. In his wry and wise voice, Alda reflects on moments of miscommunication in his own life, when an absence of understanding resulted in problems both big and small. He guides us through his discoveries, showing how communication can be improved through learning to relate to the other person: listening with our eyes, looking for clues in another's face, using the power of a compelling story, avoiding jargon, and reading another person so well that you become “in sync” with them, and know what they are thinking and feeling—especially when you're talking about the hard stuff. Drawing on improvisation training, theater, and storytelling techniques from a life of acting, and with insights from recent scientific studies, Alda describes ways we can build empathy, nurture our innate mind-reading abilities, and improve the way we relate and talk with others. Exploring empathy-boosting games and exercises, If I Understood You is a funny, thought-provoking guide that can be used by all of us, in every aspect of our lives—with our friends, lovers, and families, with our doctors, in business settings, and beyond.“Alda uses his trademark humor and a well-honed ability to get to the point, to help us all learn how to leverage the better communicator inside each of us.”—Forbes“Alda, with his laudable curiosity, has learned something you and I can use right now.”—Charlie Rose

A remarkable new way to move beyond biases and blind spots (especially if you don't think you have any!) so you can communicate more effectively with a friend, lover, relative, or colleague You know what it feels like to be “at odds” with someone. Sometimes it seems like you are speaking completely different languages. Cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Dawna Markova and communication expert Angie McArthur have spent years developing and implementing tools to help people find common ground. In Reconcilable Differences, they provide the strategies you need to bridge the gap at the heart of your differences with others. Each of us possesses rational intelligence: the capacity to divide information into discrete categories, processes, and logical steps. But you may not realize that the secret to building bridges between people lies hidden in your relational intelligence: the way you communicate, understand, learn, and trust. Reconcilable Differences shows you how to map mind patterns (the secret to pinpointing communication pitfalls) and identify thinking talents (the catalysts for peak performance). You will gain insights into how you learn in order to turn doubt into trust and uncertainty into productive engagement. Brimming with anecdotes and advice not only from the authors'files but also from their own experiences as a mother- and daughter-in-law who are like night and day, Reconcilable Differences is your guidebook for making profoundly positive change with those you care about.Advance praise for Reconcilable Differences “Reconcilable Differences offers an inspiring way to bridge differences with someone you care about. It will help you identify and improve your relational intelligence, and become a better communicator in the process.”—Deepak Chopra, co-author of You Are the Universe: Discovering Your Cosmic Self and Why It Matters “Dawna Markova and Angie McArthur offer an extremely insightful road map to navigating the diverse ways each of us approaches making ourselves understood, as well as the way we tend to hear others. The insights and strategies herein are simple and elegant. The advice is as invaluable for success at work as it is for success in life.”—Peter Sims, founder and CEO, Parliament, Inc., and author of Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries “True communication begins with understanding yourself and the way you are being understood. This book is a powerful guide to self-analysis and bridge-building.”—Suzy Amis Cameron, co-founder, the MUSE School