Communications

Here are the best of the best from my library of communications books.

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie Timeless advice from a man who really understood what it meant to view the world through the eyes of others. The title sounds manipulative, but I assure you the content is not. Read this book and you will have more success in dealing with people. It’s really that simple. Your life will change, guaranteed.
You Say More Than You Think: Use the New Body Language to Get What You Want!, The 7-Day Plan by Janine Driver You know 55% of all communication is done through body language, right? Less than 8% is the words you use. How much of life’s conversation have you been missing out on? This books breaks it down in an easy to understand, fun, and digestible way that will set well with you. Your life will change, guaranteed.
Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-On Method for Solving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures by Dan Roam I’m a big fan of turning raw data into useful skills. No one wants to eat ingredients, they want cake. No one cares about your big, fancy word problem, they want doodles. This books tells you how to talk to people the way they want to be talked to: visuals. Quick, meaningful, and impactful visuals. This is a dang-near life-changing book.
Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson It’s a good combination of a wide range of influence and persuasion applications. Some entertaining and useful anecdotes and examples. What can I say, the information seems sound. The information is top-level, but works to break the subject for a wide audience. A nice addition to any communicators library.
Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story by Peter Guber I’m a big fan of storytelling and its applications in all aspects of life. While I wish some of the “how to” and “wisdom” made it out of this book a bit more intact, the stories and information presented was entertaining, useful, and inspiring. Another nice addition to my storytelling, influence, and communications repertoire.
The Art of Influence: Persuading Others Begins With You by Chris Widener Being able to put such important soft-skills, or characteristics, into a good old, semi-believable story is a great thing. I got well absorbed into the journey of Marcus through his path to world-wide-domination… oh… I mean leadership and growth. It was fun to listen to (I checked out the audiobook version) and even brought up a few really good points I had not considered before.
The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie All the know-how and “walking a mile in their shoes” wisdom that is Carnegie comes out here, with a focus on public speaking. You can’t read enough Dale Carnegie books and you’d be doing yourself a diservice for skipping this one – especially if you do any speaking or presenting in any flavor.