THE 12 BEST BOOKS ON COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Effective communication is so important. In business, the workplace, and in your personal life, it is key to success and an essential skill to have. Building these skills will help you to advance in your career and reach your full potential in the future.
If you want to find out how to improve your communication skills, here are some of the best books on communication skills to invest in.
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1. The Science of Effective Communication by Ian Tuhovsky
If you’re looking for great information on the art of communication, this is a top read! The book is packed with clear, concise details on verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as the effect this has in real-world scenarios.
In addition to this, the author uses real-life examples and tips on how the theory can be applied in the real world. Overall, this book is interesting and easy to follow – we highly recommend it!
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
This classic book is a must-read for anyone, but particularly if you work in sales or management. If your job relies on interacting with people, it teaches valuable lessons about how humans interact and how you can improve your interpersonal skills.
The book covers a wide range of topics, including the importance of human relationships, how to motivate people, influencing others, how to be more likable, and more.
3. Bringing Out the Best in People by Aubrey C. Daniels
Next on our list is Bringing Out the Best in People. This is a great book that contains loads of helpful information and advice on how to communicate with others effectively. Anyone that wants to improve their people skills can learn a lot from it.
This book is ideal for managers or anyone leading a team. The author explains everything in a clear way and provides steps to help leaders handle different situations and encourage better overall team performance from team members.
4. The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara Pease and Allan Pease
Body language is a very important part of communicating effectively. If it’s something you personally struggle with, or you just want to improve your skills further, this is one of the best books on the importance of good body language.
This insightful book talks about why body language is important, and then it gives lots of advice on how you can use it to improve your communication and convey information more easily. This book is so enlightening – an absolute must-read!
5. Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated by Keith Ferrazzi und Tahl Raz
Most of us understand the importance of building strong connections. But, if it’s networking and building a personal network that’s of interest to you, Never Eat Alone is ideal. This book looks at the importance of networking and growing your network, plus how to do it.
For anyone in business or looking to move forward rapidly in their career, this is a great book that provides lots of actionable advice and suggestions.
6. Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences by Nancy Duarte
If public speaking and presenting is something you’re interested in, this is an amazing book choice. It gives great advice on creating presentations that stand out, as well as how to involve the audience in a thought-provoking, interesting way.
This book contains lots of superb information and advice on giving presentations. So, if you’re a speaker or aspiring speaker, or if speaking is a part of your job, this book is ideal for you!
7. Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds by Carmine Gallo
Next on our recommended list is Talk like TED by Carmine Gallo. This book is so insightful, giving lots of information about what makes a great public speaker by using some of the most highly viewed TED talks as examples.
The author provides lots of different examples of talks to illustrate the “nine public-speaking secrets”. These ideas are backed up with statistics and science. Overall, this is a very interesting book with lots of great advice for anyone wanting to improve their speaking skills.
8. You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation by Deborah Tannen
This is another great book to read, especially if you’re interested in gender differences in communication.
The book gives an in-depth explanation of these differences and gives helpful advice on how to communicate better in real-life situations. We highly recommend it if you want to improve your communication skills at work or in your business.
9. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler
If you want to improve your communication skills, this is an excellent book to read! It gives lots of insights into relationships, interactions, and human psyche to give valuable advice.
This can be applied to your relationship with your boss and colleagues, business clients, and customers; and it can also be used in your personal relationships with friends, your spouse, and family members.
10. Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
Last but not least, this final book is the ultimate guide to effective teamwork and accepting feedback, which is a key part of communication.
The authors outline the barriers to this and explain how reacting negatively to feedback affects the relationship. This is a fantastic practical guide on accepting feedback in a mature, constructive way. We recommend this book for self-improvement and having better interactions!
11. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
The art of negotiation is an essential skill at work. It can give you a competitive edge in your career. If this is a skill you want to work on, this book is a fantastic choice. Chris Voss uses his experience working as a negotiator for the FBI to outline nine key principles you need to succeed at negotiating.
The book teaches you how to approach business and personal negotiations successfully. Overall, it’s an interesting read with lots of actionable advice.
12. How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes
The last book on our list is all about how to talk to people and build relationships. As you probably know, this is very important when you’re building a career. If you want to learn better ways of dealing with people, the author has had a long career teaching people how to successfully communicate. In this book, you will find 92 easy-to-implement techniques, starting from the simplest hacks, then up to the most sophisticated methods used by successful people.
