“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.”
Mastering effective communication is a skill that helps in every part of our lives – from our relationships, and careers to our personal growth. Whether you’re looking to improve your listening skills, engage more meaningfully with others or convey your thoughts more clearly, the right guide can make all the difference. The best books on communication offer a combination of practical advice and insightful guidance that help readers communicate more confidently and empathetically. Which is why we here at What We Reading thought we would compile some of our favourite books on communication that cover a sweeping range of styles and strategies. From public speaking jitters to navigating the toughest of conversations, these reads equip readers with everything they need to conquer all things to do with communicating authentically and effectively.
Crucial Conversations: Tools For Talking When Stakes Are High – Kerry Patterson, Stephen R. Covey, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler
First up on our list of the best books on communication is Crucial Conversations. When stakes are high, opinions differ, emotions and tensions run high and three options emerge: avoid a much-needed conversation and suffer the consequences, handle the conversation badly and suffer the consequences, or read this communication book and discover how to handle them in the best way possible.
Crucial Conversations equips readers with the best strategies for communicating when it matters the most, giving them the tools needed to step up to life’s most difficult and important discussions. From being persuasive but never abrasive, continuing to listen even when people blow up, to preparing for high-impact situations, Crucial Conversations is the guidebook needed to achieve the positive resolutions you want.
Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces And Feelings To Improve Communication And Emotional Life – Paul Ekman
As a world-renowned expert in nonverbal communication, Paul Ekman has become a trailblazing force in our understanding of emotions. In his book Emotions Revealed, he compiles his research and theories to provide a comprehensive look at the evolutionary origins of human emotions, including anger, disgust, fear, sadness and happiness.
Drawing on decades’ worth of fieldwork, Ekman illuminates how emotions are deeply entrenched in the human species. In the process, he attempts to answer questions such as: What triggers emotions, and how do we stop them? How can we distinguish between authentic reactions and fake ones? And whether we are ever able to truly control our emotions. Featuring unique exercises and photographs, Emotions Revealed is a practical and mind-opening book on communication, science and self.
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Nonviolent Communication: A Language Of Life – Marshall B. Rosenberg
Society has perpetuated for centuries ways of thinking and speaking that trigger conflict, pain and violence. In his acclaimed book on communication, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, Marshall Rosenberg partners practical skills with powerful consciousness for a book that teaches readers to find the skills that improve the quality of their relationships, deepen their sense of empowerment and communicate more effectively.
A Language of Life offers insightful stories, anecdotes, practical exercises and role-plays that promise to dramatically change every reader’s approach to communication for the better. Through Rosenberg’s work, readers discover how language can be used to strengthen relationships, build trust, prevent conflicts and heal pain, making it undoubtedly one of the most handy books on communication for reducing violence and finding peace, one interaction at a time.
How To Talk To Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere: The Secrets Of Good Communication – Larry King, Bill Gilbert
In How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere, legendary author, host and interviewer Larry King addresses those who find talking to others uncomfortable and provides the most effective lessons for building confidence and improving communication skills.
With a wealth of anecdotes from a life spent talking on television, radio and in person, King lifts the lid on what famous talkers say and how the way in they deliver these things helps make them successful. Included in How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere are lessons on overcoming shyness, putting others at ease, choosing appropriate conversation topics and what the most successful conversations all have in common.
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Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach To Nonviolent Communication – Oren Jay Sofer
Oren Jay Sofer’s Say What You Mean is a book on communication that aims to equip readers with a method of communicating that is not only considerably easier but also far more effective for those on both sides of the exchange. Another one of the best resources centred around the modality of nonviolent communication, Oren’s work hones in on the concept that every human is capable of compassion, and only resorts to violence when they don’t recognise more effective strategies for meeting needs.
Say What You Mean offers three steps: presence, intention and attention. These steps are all accompanied by practical exercises where readers learn how to apply these unique skills to personal and social relationships with significant others, friends, colleagues and family members alike.
The Communication Book: 44 Ideas For Better Conversations Every Day – Mikael Krogerus And Roman Tschäppeler
Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler have tested forty-four of the most crucial communication theories and condensed them into a single accessible book alongside clear and entertaining illustrations in their 2020 book on communication, The Communication Book.
Whether you’re looking to present ideas more clearly and concisely, improve your small-talking abilities or refine the art of introspection, The Communication Book delivers theoretical knowledge and practical advice in a small but mighty package. Featuring sections dedicated to work, self, relationships and language, The Communication Book and its forty-four unique illustrations is an invaluable handbook for anyone looking to improve what they say and how they it.
Cues: Master The Secret Language Of Charismatic Communication – Vanessa Van Edwards
In her acclaimed 2022 book about communication, Vanessa Van Edwards shares her advanced guide to improving professional relationships through the power of cues. Cues demonstrates how the tiny signals we broadcast to others 24/7 have a profound impact on how we and our ideas come across. So often, they can be the determining factor behind whether our message is enhanced or undermined.
Both entertaining and compelling, Van Edwards teaches readers how to convey power, trust, leadership, likeabibility and charisma in every interaction. Along the way, they discover how vocal cues make individuals sound more confident, which visual cues are being presented in outfits, profile pictures and professional brands, and which body language cues assert confidence and loyalty.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
