Three Books to Develop Your Communication Skills + One Extra
Learn effective communication skills from these four books.
While I do believe that specialized communication education is necessary for open relationships, foundational communication skills impact all relationships. There are some great resources available to begin (or continue to develop your journey).
Before I go into my recommendations, I want to emphasize the following:
Communication education is ongoing and should be practiced over the course of your life.
I want to emphasize this because even if you have read or practiced some of the skills in the following books, I encourage you to pick up these again and reconsider from where you are now. We learn cynically, applying what we know now to the information that we are consuming.
Without further ado, here is a list of the three general communication books I recommend* that you pick up over and over to remind yourself of the skills, as well as learn from where you are now:
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory
While Crucial Conversations was written for the workplace, the integration of emotional intelligence into the communication process in this book is relevant to anyone in any type of relationship. When teaching this content professionally, I often had people tell me that it changed their personal life as well.
There Is No Good Card for This: What To Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love by Dr. Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell
There Is No Good Card for This is book that provides practical approaches to communicating with others when you know they are hurting. It offers brilliant tools and an approach to empathy that hopes to develop closeness even in hard times.
You're Not Listening by Kate Murphy
Communication requires the ability to listen. You're Not Listening offers a research based approach to why focusing on listening matters and what we are risking when we don't.
Bonus book:
All About Love by bell hooks
While not a formal communication book (I know...I just gave a whole intro), bell hooks develops ideas of empathy for others and deconstructs how we approach love. It is a must read for everyone!
What are your favorite books about communication?
In curiosity,
Dr. S. Kay Webb
*If you purchase a book from one of these links, I receive a small kick back.
