What do you think?
Rate this book
Effective Communication Skills - Transcript Book
Talk is something you do every day. And your life is literally shaped by it. Many of the decisions you make are decided by talking. You may be in a restaurant asking a waiter for an unusual substitution, urging a service manager to get your car finished sooner rather than later, or trying to sway your significant other toward a particular film or show. Or you might be trying to build more cooperative relationships at the office.
No matter why you engage in face-to-face talk, though, there's no way to insulate yourself from the dangers of miscommunication. Your ability to use the art of talk to effectively convey who you are and to build solid relationships not only influences the success of your friendships, romantic life, and everyday encounters, but also how you experience your workplace. Studies show that using conversational skills properly in that arena makes you more productive, happier, and less stressed.
But the truth is that most of us don't understand nearly as well as we could how conversation really works, whether in the office or out of it, with both parties often having entirely different perceptions of what the words and gestures passing back and forth are meant to convey. Even more important, most of us aren't as successful as we could be in making those conversations work better for us. Even when we're more skilled at it than the average person, we often give up the opportunity to be even better, leaving a lot of potential success and happiness on the table.
Effective Communication Skills is your chance to learn more about how you communicate verbally, the common problems you can encounter in doing so, and how you can improve your own effectiveness—especially by overcoming the psychological and biological hard-wiring that too often gets in the way.
In 24 mind-opening lectures, Professor Dalton Kehoe of Canada's York University brings more than four decades of experience as an award-winning teacher, author, and successful business consultant to this exploration of what's really going in any conversation you take part in.
No matter why you engage in face-to-face talk, though, there's no way to insulate yourself from the dangers of miscommunication. Your ability to use the art of talk to effectively convey who you are and to build solid relationships not only influences the success of your friendships, romantic life, and everyday encounters, but also how you experience your workplace. Studies show that using conversational skills properly in that arena makes you more productive, happier, and less stressed.
But the truth is that most of us don't understand nearly as well as we could how conversation really works, whether in the office or out of it, with both parties often having entirely different perceptions of what the words and gestures passing back and forth are meant to convey. Even more important, most of us aren't as successful as we could be in making those conversations work better for us. Even when we're more skilled at it than the average person, we often give up the opportunity to be even better, leaving a lot of potential success and happiness on the table.
Effective Communication Skills is your chance to learn more about how you communicate verbally, the common problems you can encounter in doing so, and how you can improve your own effectiveness—especially by overcoming the psychological and biological hard-wiring that too often gets in the way.
In 24 mind-opening lectures, Professor Dalton Kehoe of Canada's York University brings more than four decades of experience as an award-winning teacher, author, and successful business consultant to this exploration of what's really going in any conversation you take part in.
358 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
89 people are currently reading
854 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
July 9, 2019
This is an audio course but the contents are still very valuable.
First part is very academic, author presents a lot of research about neuroscience our brain and how does it work when we communicate.
The most interesting part for me was the middle one about personal relationships. I took a lot of tips from the author about the communication with the relatives or in a difficult scenario.
A few interesting takeaways for me:
“Smalltalk is nothing and smalltalk is everything”. I work remotely for most of the time and the relationships I was able to establish in person are the ones I’m enjoying the most.
“The more we talk to the person, the more we like the person and the more we like the person, the more we talk to that person” - it actually makes perfect sense!
Our gut feeling is nothing else than just a neurochemical reaction of our unconscious mind.
If you want to learn the core information about communication with other people and how does it influence relationships - I highly recommend it. You won’t find a lot of help in terms of writing, remote communication or speaking.
First part is very academic, author presents a lot of research about neuroscience our brain and how does it work when we communicate.
The most interesting part for me was the middle one about personal relationships. I took a lot of tips from the author about the communication with the relatives or in a difficult scenario.
A few interesting takeaways for me:
“Smalltalk is nothing and smalltalk is everything”. I work remotely for most of the time and the relationships I was able to establish in person are the ones I’m enjoying the most.
“The more we talk to the person, the more we like the person and the more we like the person, the more we talk to that person” - it actually makes perfect sense!
Our gut feeling is nothing else than just a neurochemical reaction of our unconscious mind.
If you want to learn the core information about communication with other people and how does it influence relationships - I highly recommend it. You won’t find a lot of help in terms of writing, remote communication or speaking.
January 6, 2023
Effective communication Skills was a course divided into lectures. It went through a theory and then through practical situations and advices. It gave an explanation on how day to day communication works, what we can pay attention to in order to improve our communication with other people. The lecturer emphasized importance of listening attentively to other person wile they speak, instead of thinking of what your reply should be; techniques of calming yourself in stressful situation; using your "adult" voice to talk with angry or emotional people/ children to solve a problem instead of getting emotional and starting shouting yourself.
The course was interesting and entertaining; it provided new points of view and things to think of.
The course was interesting and entertaining; it provided new points of view and things to think of.
July 31, 2014
Talk is cheap and easy (“words are wind”), but true communication is much more complicated and difficult to achieve. This was a deep dive college-type course into how we communicate and how our emotions, instinct, and “auto-pilot” reactions get in the way. While the course a tad dry and prolonged, the information covered was very revealing and useful. It is no “quick fix” endeavor, but knowing how we process speech and how our minds work, certainly is informative and helpful in the long term. The suggestions and triggers are certainly worth employing and practicing to enhance communications at home and at work.
June 21, 2015
I did this course as a DVD lecture before about two years ago. I found it outstanding. To review the content, I decided to read the transcript book rather than watch it a second time.
I originally bought this lecture because I had taken on some new responsibilities at work. Even though I don’t consider myself a bad communicator, I feel that things don’t always go well when talking to other people, so I decided to try this course. I was extremely, positively surprised by the contents and the messages of the course and absolutely loved it.
Anything I heard about communication before, basically focused on the matters of the last few lectures of this course. While those certainly are the areas where one would obviously try to use effective communication (relationships, work), previous learning experiences have not resulted in a real and lasting solution for me. After this course, I finally understand why.
After this course, I finally realize that to become a good and successful communicator, one first has to understand more about us as humans and why communication fails so often in the first place. Then you can learn how to change it. In this regard, Professor Kehoe’s course is structured very logically.
After starting with a general introduction, he describes how our communication develops and is influenced by our social surroundings. He explains the cognitive unconscious and how it influences our conscious mind; how we develop our sense of self, and how we try to protect that self when we are talking. He differentiates different kinds of talk (connect talk, control talk, and dialogue talk), and then, after it becomes clear what the advantages and disadvantages of those are, he focuses on specific situations in the final lectures as described above. He finishes with a lecture that shows how dialogue talk and its ethical implications can improve one's life significantly.
Professor Kehoe’s approach helped me to finally gain a better understanding of communication, because more lectures focused on the general premises of communication (lectures 1 - 19) rather than just the usage during specific situations at work or in relationships (lectures 20 - 23). Furthermore, he does use plenty of examples of everyday-life-situations througout the first 19 lectures to make them clear and understandable.
Now the transcript book is a printed version of what he was saying in a lecture, and if someone talks rather quickly, like Kehoe does, it is sometimes difficult to put that down correctly in writing - or they just did not spend that much time editing. There are some glitches in the book (one section printed twice, punctuations missing, auxiliary verbs missing, a misspell), but for me the content matters, so I don't take a star away for bad editing.
In general, I would recommend to do the DVD course because the presentation is done well, supported with graphics, which are contained in the course book but unfortunately not in this transcript book. If the price is an issue though (DVD course usually around $70 during frequent sales), this book will do, too.
I think that this is a course that everyone should take and it should be taught in schools. If the teachings were applied more in our life, it would make our world a significantly better place to live. "
I originally bought this lecture because I had taken on some new responsibilities at work. Even though I don’t consider myself a bad communicator, I feel that things don’t always go well when talking to other people, so I decided to try this course. I was extremely, positively surprised by the contents and the messages of the course and absolutely loved it.
Anything I heard about communication before, basically focused on the matters of the last few lectures of this course. While those certainly are the areas where one would obviously try to use effective communication (relationships, work), previous learning experiences have not resulted in a real and lasting solution for me. After this course, I finally understand why.
After this course, I finally realize that to become a good and successful communicator, one first has to understand more about us as humans and why communication fails so often in the first place. Then you can learn how to change it. In this regard, Professor Kehoe’s course is structured very logically.
After starting with a general introduction, he describes how our communication develops and is influenced by our social surroundings. He explains the cognitive unconscious and how it influences our conscious mind; how we develop our sense of self, and how we try to protect that self when we are talking. He differentiates different kinds of talk (connect talk, control talk, and dialogue talk), and then, after it becomes clear what the advantages and disadvantages of those are, he focuses on specific situations in the final lectures as described above. He finishes with a lecture that shows how dialogue talk and its ethical implications can improve one's life significantly.
Professor Kehoe’s approach helped me to finally gain a better understanding of communication, because more lectures focused on the general premises of communication (lectures 1 - 19) rather than just the usage during specific situations at work or in relationships (lectures 20 - 23). Furthermore, he does use plenty of examples of everyday-life-situations througout the first 19 lectures to make them clear and understandable.
Now the transcript book is a printed version of what he was saying in a lecture, and if someone talks rather quickly, like Kehoe does, it is sometimes difficult to put that down correctly in writing - or they just did not spend that much time editing. There are some glitches in the book (one section printed twice, punctuations missing, auxiliary verbs missing, a misspell), but for me the content matters, so I don't take a star away for bad editing.
In general, I would recommend to do the DVD course because the presentation is done well, supported with graphics, which are contained in the course book but unfortunately not in this transcript book. If the price is an issue though (DVD course usually around $70 during frequent sales), this book will do, too.
I think that this is a course that everyone should take and it should be taught in schools. If the teachings were applied more in our life, it would make our world a significantly better place to live. "
August 2, 2016
Impressive course, by all means.
1. The first part is more academic. Contains conclusions and presentations of a lot of scientific studies. If you are familiar with psychology and in general with the way our mind works, this part may be somewhat boring. For me it was a nice reminder of all the pshycho-stuff.
2. Then there is a great deal about personal communication. About how we communicate, about how we see ourselves and the other person while talking. It contains a lot of good tips to apply in personal and family communication.
3. Finally, the last part of the course concentrates on workplace communication. There quite a lot of valuable recommendations for managers and leaders, as well as for communicating with other team members who are working at the same organizational level with you.
Thank you Dalton Kehoe
1. The first part is more academic. Contains conclusions and presentations of a lot of scientific studies. If you are familiar with psychology and in general with the way our mind works, this part may be somewhat boring. For me it was a nice reminder of all the pshycho-stuff.
2. Then there is a great deal about personal communication. About how we communicate, about how we see ourselves and the other person while talking. It contains a lot of good tips to apply in personal and family communication.
3. Finally, the last part of the course concentrates on workplace communication. There quite a lot of valuable recommendations for managers and leaders, as well as for communicating with other team members who are working at the same organizational level with you.
Thank you Dalton Kehoe
March 26, 2019
Watch a detailed review along with my favorite ideas and takeaways at:
https://youtu.be/ajE1x7Y9S7w
https://youtu.be/ajE1x7Y9S7w
February 14, 2014
A very academic book, well supported by research. I think most people would opt for a less academic and more instructive book on the subject but I prefer the validated, academic work.
April 28, 2024
"What do I want out of this situation? What do I think they want? What can I say or do that will get me the outcome I am looking for and preserve the dignity of everyone involved?"
I appreciated learning about the layers that affect communication (how we view ourselves, how the other person views us, and vice versa, creating multiple "selves"), how our emotions are a physical response that can linger long after a conversation but that we can still strategize our best response despite those feelings, and the concepts of viewing a situation from a "balcony" and speaking to ourselves in our "adult" voices rather than that of a parent or child. It was interesting to learn that emotional response to a situation can be affected by the other person's approach or presentation. Emotions, then, are something to acknowledge and work around, not try to ignore.
I listened to the audiobook from The Great Courses and also found a printed copy of the transcript from 2011, which has helpful summaries before each lesson's transcript.
I appreciated learning about the layers that affect communication (how we view ourselves, how the other person views us, and vice versa, creating multiple "selves"), how our emotions are a physical response that can linger long after a conversation but that we can still strategize our best response despite those feelings, and the concepts of viewing a situation from a "balcony" and speaking to ourselves in our "adult" voices rather than that of a parent or child. It was interesting to learn that emotional response to a situation can be affected by the other person's approach or presentation. Emotions, then, are something to acknowledge and work around, not try to ignore.
I listened to the audiobook from The Great Courses and also found a printed copy of the transcript from 2011, which has helpful summaries before each lesson's transcript.
October 17, 2022
The parts of this series of lectures focused on communications was excellent with lots of great ideas for becoming a better communicator.
Surprisingly, much of this communication course was not about communication. Instead, almost all of the first few lectures were focused on discussing psychology that was tangentially related to communication.
Even once Kehoe did get into the meat of his lectures, these discussions of psychology would pop up occasionally.
They did not contribute to my understanding of the discussions of communications and should have been excised.
Surprisingly, much of this communication course was not about communication. Instead, almost all of the first few lectures were focused on discussing psychology that was tangentially related to communication.
Even once Kehoe did get into the meat of his lectures, these discussions of psychology would pop up occasionally.
They did not contribute to my understanding of the discussions of communications and should have been excised.
April 5, 2021
Forgettable.
July 24, 2025
Used to listen to this when I’d go for walks, interesting and engaging - but I didn’t necessarily find it useful.
July 10, 2019
I love these lectures. It was very helpful. He doesn't get right to the strategies and skills but builds up to them, building a foundation that is compelling. He offers models of self and how the self interacts with others. He talks about our cognitive processes used in interpreting expressions. He also talks about why we communicate. After all, what is the purpose of communication? or the handful of purposes and goals of communication?
July 1, 2018
Yet another from the Great Courses audiobook series. This one is pretty good. I'm not sure how useful it would be to most people on a first listen. Many of the lessons will need to be heard more than once to get it locked into the mind, so that one can draw upon the lessons in critical conversations.
I found the audio lessons entertaining because the speaker intersperses his lectures with personal examples from his own life, such as his first meeting with his wife's family... all Italian speakers. Mastering conversation in one language is tough enough.
Any problems? None I recall.
Although the book does not mention transactional analysis, he seems to use it as a structure for handling conversation. That seems appropriate. I recommend the book "I'm OK - You're OK" by Thomas A. Harris and "What Do You Say After You Say Hello?" by Eric Berne for more on transactional analysis and how it can help in understanding where communication goes wrong and how to fix it.
I'd listen to these audio lessons again.
I found the audio lessons entertaining because the speaker intersperses his lectures with personal examples from his own life, such as his first meeting with his wife's family... all Italian speakers. Mastering conversation in one language is tough enough.
Any problems? None I recall.
Although the book does not mention transactional analysis, he seems to use it as a structure for handling conversation. That seems appropriate. I recommend the book "I'm OK - You're OK" by Thomas A. Harris and "What Do You Say After You Say Hello?" by Eric Berne for more on transactional analysis and how it can help in understanding where communication goes wrong and how to fix it.
I'd listen to these audio lessons again.
October 17, 2023
My new favorite of The Great Courses published by The Teaching Company.
(My previous favorite was The Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution by Thomas L. Pangle.)
Uses "effective" like Stephen Covey; goes on the re-listen annually list. I was extremely impressed with multiple lectures focused on how we think and feel (including self-image) to help us understand what happens in each person during communication.
Other recommended (Great Courses as well as Modern Scholar) include:
The Art of Conflict Management: Achieving Solutions for Life Work by Michael Dues
The Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas by Peter Kreeft
Faith and Reason: The Philosophy of Religion by Peter Kreeft
Questions of Value by Patrick Grim
(My previous favorite was The Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution by Thomas L. Pangle.)
Uses "effective" like Stephen Covey; goes on the re-listen annually list. I was extremely impressed with multiple lectures focused on how we think and feel (including self-image) to help us understand what happens in each person during communication.
Other recommended (Great Courses as well as Modern Scholar) include:
The Art of Conflict Management: Achieving Solutions for Life Work by Michael Dues
The Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas by Peter Kreeft
Faith and Reason: The Philosophy of Religion by Peter Kreeft
Questions of Value by Patrick Grim
November 28, 2015
This was huge at 12 hours so more than a dozen runs giving this is part of my running-university. It's a ton of great theoretical content, but I have to say its not the most uplifting or invigorating to get me running more laps and possibly even was a bit of a hurdle to dragging myself into the running kit to go for a run.
I can image that, live to be in one of his classes would be pretty good and better than just listening to the recording.
Anyway, some good theory and a few nuggets to add to the growing knowledge of communication you can amass for yourself as well as absolutely putting solid theory to what you likely are already doing.
I can image that, live to be in one of his classes would be pretty good and better than just listening to the recording.
Anyway, some good theory and a few nuggets to add to the growing knowledge of communication you can amass for yourself as well as absolutely putting solid theory to what you likely are already doing.
June 13, 2018
As others have pointed out, the course is divided into theory and practical application. I found the theory section to be rather boring, but others may find it fascinating. I'm planning on listening to the practical section; it was so useful. It should diagnose or at least cause you to reflect on areas where you are currently doing pretty well, and in others woefully short in terms of how you communicate with others. This made it very helpful because parts of it became a tool of self-discovery for me. People who fail and succeed in these areas will definitely come to your mind as you listen to the second half of these lectures.
September 20, 2016
This has been an extremely useful read/listen. The lectures start from the basics, and work their way through exactly how communication works. This is useful for anyone who wants to learn how to better communicate with others, be it their neighbor, spouse, co-worker, or that crazy Trump supporter down the street (well, maybe it won't work for the last one...).
February 7, 2012
I didn't find this course worth my time. The content was disappointing, mostly impractical though interesting psychological research and little or no practical insights. Covered mostly theories and stories and findings that have little to no practical value. Just a useless course.
December 22, 2018
Great breadth and depth. Excellent principles and application. Communication is something most of us do all day and most of the rest some of the day. Why don't we more often teach and learn the principles involved? Highly recommended.
March 17, 2016
One of the best of this type of book or class on this topic I have found. Shared it with a few friends as well, who also enjoyed it.
December 31, 2017
The course is divided into two parts one theoretical and another with practical examples. However it neglects some cultural differences in communications.
February 4, 2018
I enjoyed learning about how the brain works in regards to communication.
April 26, 2018
Such important information is contained in this course. I'll need to listen again to recall so much.
May 27, 2018
The thorough and complete western examination of the life changing skill of relating to others that is blowing in from the east as the 4 Agreements.
January 30, 2019
There are not enough stars for this,
March 9, 2019
This teacher was great. I would definitely recommend this.
November 23, 2024
The book is actually a course on communication. From understanding the deep psychology behind why we speak the way we do, to practical tips on navigating difficult conversations, it’s the kind of book that makes you pause mid-chapter just to reflect on all the times you’ve accidentally said the wrong thing.
There's a very useful deep dive into active listening. And I don't mean the part where you just nod along or repeat the last three words someone said :) He talks about truly being present, ditching your mental scripts, and showing the other person they’ve got your full attention. It’s deceptively simple, but Kehoe explains how it’s the secret sauce to making people feel heard, respected, and valued.
Then there’s his advice on emotional awareness. Let’s face it: we’ve all had moments where we said something in the heat of the moment and regretted it instantly. Kehoe breaks down how to recognize your emotions before they hijack your words. It’s not easy (he’s not promising miracles here), but his practical steps make it feel doable—even for those of us who might not be the most emotionally Zen.
My notes on key points from this:
- Pause and reflect on assumptions before responding in a conversation.
- Practice noticing emotional undercurrents during discussions.
- Pay attention to non-verbal cues like tone, gestures, and eye contact.
- Summarize what you hear to confirm understanding.
- Learn about cultural norms of those you frequently interact with.
- Avoid assuming that your way of communicating is “universal.”
- Practice mindfulness to become aware of automatic reactions.
- Slow down your responses to ensure clarity and intent. There's a good book on this - 3 Seconds: The Power of Thinking Twice by Les Parrott III
- Use simple and clear language, especially in stressful situations.
- Identify your emotional triggers and practice calming techniques like deep breathing)
- Use “I feel” statements to express emotions constructively. This avoids making others responsible for what you feel and also keeps people around you from triggering
- Replace negative internal narratives with constructive ones, like “I’m doing my best.”
- Set a mental intention before entering a challenging conversation.
- Prepare for conversations by anticipating potential misunderstandings.
- When conflicts arise, focus on shared goals instead of differences.
- Show genuine interest by asking open-ended questions about the other person.
- Mirror the other person’s communication style to foster rapport.
- Use collaborative language like “we” and “us” instead of “you” and “me.”
- Avoid interrupting and instead validate the other person’s point.
- De-escalate by acknowledging the other person’s feelings before addressing the issue.
- Use follow-up questions to encourage deeper responses (e.g., “Can you tell me more about that?”).
- Avoid raising your voice or appearing dismissive.
- Approach difficult conversations with empathy, using phrases like, “I understand this might be hard to hear.”
- Focus on behaviors, not personal traits (“I noticed you missed the deadline” vs. “You’re unreliable”).
- Be aware of gender and cultural expectations that may shape communication styles.
- Express appreciation regularly in your relationships, even for small actions.
- Address minor issues early before they escalate into larger conflicts.
- Use clear and concise language when giving instructions.
- Reflect on the ethical implications of your communication (e.g., fairness, respect).
- Avoid manipulative tactics and prioritize transparency.
Some books referenced in the course:
- "I and Thou" by Martin Buber
- "Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman
- "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life" by Marshall B. Rosenberg
- "The Dance of Connection" by Harriet Lerner
- "That's Not What I Meant!" by Deborah Tannen
There's a very useful deep dive into active listening. And I don't mean the part where you just nod along or repeat the last three words someone said :) He talks about truly being present, ditching your mental scripts, and showing the other person they’ve got your full attention. It’s deceptively simple, but Kehoe explains how it’s the secret sauce to making people feel heard, respected, and valued.
Then there’s his advice on emotional awareness. Let’s face it: we’ve all had moments where we said something in the heat of the moment and regretted it instantly. Kehoe breaks down how to recognize your emotions before they hijack your words. It’s not easy (he’s not promising miracles here), but his practical steps make it feel doable—even for those of us who might not be the most emotionally Zen.
My notes on key points from this:
- Pause and reflect on assumptions before responding in a conversation.
- Practice noticing emotional undercurrents during discussions.
- Pay attention to non-verbal cues like tone, gestures, and eye contact.
- Summarize what you hear to confirm understanding.
- Learn about cultural norms of those you frequently interact with.
- Avoid assuming that your way of communicating is “universal.”
- Practice mindfulness to become aware of automatic reactions.
- Slow down your responses to ensure clarity and intent. There's a good book on this - 3 Seconds: The Power of Thinking Twice by Les Parrott III
- Use simple and clear language, especially in stressful situations.
- Identify your emotional triggers and practice calming techniques like deep breathing)
- Use “I feel” statements to express emotions constructively. This avoids making others responsible for what you feel and also keeps people around you from triggering
- Replace negative internal narratives with constructive ones, like “I’m doing my best.”
- Set a mental intention before entering a challenging conversation.
- Prepare for conversations by anticipating potential misunderstandings.
- When conflicts arise, focus on shared goals instead of differences.
- Show genuine interest by asking open-ended questions about the other person.
- Mirror the other person’s communication style to foster rapport.
- Use collaborative language like “we” and “us” instead of “you” and “me.”
- Avoid interrupting and instead validate the other person’s point.
- De-escalate by acknowledging the other person’s feelings before addressing the issue.
- Use follow-up questions to encourage deeper responses (e.g., “Can you tell me more about that?”).
- Avoid raising your voice or appearing dismissive.
- Approach difficult conversations with empathy, using phrases like, “I understand this might be hard to hear.”
- Focus on behaviors, not personal traits (“I noticed you missed the deadline” vs. “You’re unreliable”).
- Be aware of gender and cultural expectations that may shape communication styles.
- Express appreciation regularly in your relationships, even for small actions.
- Address minor issues early before they escalate into larger conflicts.
- Use clear and concise language when giving instructions.
- Reflect on the ethical implications of your communication (e.g., fairness, respect).
- Avoid manipulative tactics and prioritize transparency.
Some books referenced in the course:
- "I and Thou" by Martin Buber
- "Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman
- "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life" by Marshall B. Rosenberg
- "The Dance of Connection" by Harriet Lerner
- "That's Not What I Meant!" by Deborah Tannen
January 3, 2018
I liked this book, lots of data and good advice.
The initial takeaway was that "Meaning comes from people, not words". A little disheartening as I love word crafting and an excellent twist of phrase, but it makes sense. He also reemphasized the importance of active listening to show that your listening and empathizing.
I also liked the story of the Navy captain who's management style was:
1) Don't command, communicate purpose
2) Organize around performance, not obedience
3) On the first day, ask everyone What do you like the best, what do you like the least, what would you change if you could? Then implement.
The initial takeaway was that "Meaning comes from people, not words". A little disheartening as I love word crafting and an excellent twist of phrase, but it makes sense. He also reemphasized the importance of active listening to show that your listening and empathizing.
I also liked the story of the Navy captain who's management style was:
1) Don't command, communicate purpose
2) Organize around performance, not obedience
3) On the first day, ask everyone What do you like the best, what do you like the least, what would you change if you could? Then implement.
November 24, 2023
You are likely familiar with most of the concepts discussed in this book. However, the challenge lies in self-control and recognizing when a conversation takes a negative turn. While the author proposes various methods to address communication issues, I found the book falls short in providing strategies to modify your default emotional and behavioral habits in order to identify problems at their early stages or preventing them altogether. Emotional defaults are very strong and it's hard to notice when the issue is already in progress and stop yourself to fix it while it's not too late.
January 4, 2021
Such an important read for me. Communication has always been one of the main skills I was not very good at. I didn't perform as well as I wished professionally and in my love life because I didn't know how to communicate my needs and most especially listen to the other parties needs. I feel like I can put the 24 lectures given by Dalton Kehoe to good use and start getting better deals for me and for people around me, increasing our connections at work and at home.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews