As December swiftly approaches, the holiday season seems to have snuck up on us, and before we know it the year will come to a close. With New Year’s right around the corner, we need to start thinking about our resolutions. Will we work on our careers, our relationships? Both?
Many can address both these areas of life by focusing on a single skill set — communication. Want to make new friends? Want to get that promotion? Want to make a difference in the world around you?
In this spirit of discarding old habits and expanding our horizons, here are six books that highlight the importance of communication skills, both in work and in life. Hopefully you’ll find a spark of inspiration to welcome in the New Year!
How to Talk to Anyone About Anything by James W Williams
This timeless classic is your complete guide to mastering the art of conversation. From struggles making small talk and feeling awkward to lacking the courage and confidence to meet new people, this book has the answers. Each chapter is broken down into easy-to-follow steps, with stories and tips to help you make instantaneous, positive change. You will learn how to hone your listening skills, ask the right questions, strengthen relationships and tell stories that will take people’s breath away.
More Than Words by Carrie Fox
Looking to make a bigger impact in your business or in the world at large? This is a great starting point! The author examines four key communication practices of courageous leaders to help foster inclusive, equitable and authentic communicators. These practices are interlaced with personal stories from the author and other influential and impactful people she’s met throughout her long history in the communications industry. Using a “more-than-words” approach, you too can disrupt and reimagine harmful narratives for the betterment of society. (Read the full Booktrib review here.)
Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson
Having difficulty connecting with certain people, at work and in life? From the coworker whose voice drives you up the wall to the friend you can’t seem to reason with? You aren’t alone. This international bestseller offers a simple yet groundbreaking method of assessing and categorizing the people we communicate with based on four personality types. Based on these types, we can adjust how we speak and share information for the most positive outcome. You’re sure to walk away with a better understanding of how to handle conflicts, improve dynamics in the workforce, and other helpful tricks for effective communication with the “idiots” in your life.
Walking on Eggshells? by Marli Rusen
Tired of walking on eggshells? It’s exhausting and unproductive to have to tiptoe around someone; but one workplace arbitrator, investigator and mediator has compiled the perfect solution in this book! The author’s MIRROR Method is a six-step process of evaluation, reflection and then action, designed to help people talk through those uncomfortable differences to bring matters into closer harmony. Those stressful disagreements, disrespectful communication and disruptive behavior can be tackled easily with these practical tools, tested techniques and straightforward methods — in the workplace and beyond. (Read the full Booktrib review here.)
Infectious by Achim Nowak
Technology has vastly transformed the way we communicate. Yet with such fast and easy communication at our fingertips, many of us seem to know less and less about how to connect. This book offers four powerful Levels of Connection that have been tested and honed throughout the author’s fifteen years of international experience as a performance coach for senior-level executives. Using these techniques, people will learn to connect deeply with others, and thus gain infectious connections that accelerate their personal success.
How to Win Friends and Manage Remotely by McKenna Sweazey
It’s fair to say that since the pandemic began, many of us suddenly had to find a new rhythm and figure out what being professionally efficient would look like from an at-home environment. Through digital communication, we lose the subtle clues we’ve evolved as a species, the thousands of indicators meant to convey what a person really thinks and how they feel. This how-to guide for managers and employees helps them navigate a virtual workplace and attempt to show empathy in a digital world, becoming better leaders, kinder managers, and more effective cogs in the corporate machine. (Read the full Booktrib review here.)
