A Harvard professor shows how we can become better talkers - and why effective conversation will help us all thrive
Conversation is at the heart of our relationships and our decision-making. From meeting a colleague to saying goodnight to our loved ones, our days are filled with verbal communication -- but the science of everyday conversation is little known.
In Talk, widely-cited Harvard professor Alison Wood Brooks shows how simple changes in how we communicate can improve our relationships and our performance at work; how our choice of conversation partners affects our happiness; and how to talk across differences. Her original research, based on thousands of conversations from sales calls to speed dating, provides fascinating insights - for instance, the way that certain questions affect dating success, and the role of jokes in professionals reaching leadership positions.
Bringing together psychology, linguistics, sociology and neuroscience, and structured around four elements of better conversations -- Topics, Asking, Levity and Kindness -- Talk will show how we can use science to help us enrich our lives, one conversation at a time.
