Talk

The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves

De: Alison Wood Brooks

Narrado por: Alison Wood Brooks

A groundbreaking book that reveals the hidden architecture of our conversations and how even small improvements can have a profound impact on our relationships in work and life—from a celebrated Harvard Business School professor and leading expert on the psychology of conversation.

“Alison Wood Brooks brings to life the science of conversation, in which she is a world expert, with the utmost warmth, empathy, and joy.”—Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit

All of us can struggle with difficult conversations, but we’re often not very good at the easy ones either. Though we do it all the time, Harvard professor Alison Wood Brooks argues that conversation is one of the most complex, demanding, and delicate of all human tasks, rife with possibilities for misinterpretation and misunderstanding. And yet conversations can also be a source of great joy, each one offering an opportunity to express who we are and learn who others are—to feel connected, loved, and alive.

In Talk, Brooks shows why conversing a little more effectively can make a big difference in the quality of our close personal relationships as well as our professional success. Drawing on the new science of conversation, Brooks distills lessons that show how we can better understand, learn from, and delight each other.

The key is her TALK Maxims:

Topics: Choose topics and manage them well

Asking: Ask more questions

Levity: Use humor to keep conversations fizzy

Kindness: Prioritize their partners conversational needs

Through experiments ranging across the conversational spectrum—from speed daters who ask too few questions (or too many), to future business leaders averse to topic forethought, to traffic stops that reveal the essence of kind language—Brooks takes us inside the world of conversation, giving us the confidence and the advice to approach any interaction with more creativity and compassion.

Addressing our face-to-face conversations as well as those we have by phone, email, text, and social media, Talk is a thoughtful guide for anyone seeking to better establish and sustain their relationships. From managing our emotions and sparking creativity to navigating conflict and being more inclusive, the right conversation skills just might be the key to leading a more purposeful life.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF containing visual supplements and the Appendix, from the printed book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2025 Alison Wood Brooks (P)2025 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“In Talk, Alison Wood Brooks mines years of data from her studies at Harvard Business School, where she has dissected parole hearings, speed dates, sales calls and friendly chats to discern the keys to effective communication. . . . Brooks is a companionable writer, and she’s alive to the absurdity inherent in her project. Talk is messy, and good talk messier still.”—The New York Times

“Talk is that rarest of treats: smart, insightful, immediately useful, and way more fun to read than should be allowed. . . . This audiobook gave us fresh ideas that we put into practice immediately on friends, family, clients, and colleagues. Talk has changed how we think about what it means for two people to really talk to each other.”—Sheila Heen and Doug Stone, bestselling co-authors of Difficult Conversations

“For many, one of the lost arts in modern life is conversation. Alison Wood Brooks’s wonderful new book, Talk, has the solution. Listen this book, and your life will improve.”—Arthur C. Brooks, Harvard professor and #1 New York Times bestselling author

Excellent, important content. But the narration...

I'm getting through this title and absolutely loving the content thus far. It's every bit as good as you'd expect from the author's credentials. Smart, erudite, incisive, nuanced, deeply impressive in breadth and depth, and eminently accessible. It's a masterful work.

...which I can only take in small chunks, because the narration commits what to me is a cardinal sin: endless repetition of the up-down-up-down-up-down inflection that every English-speaking amateur defaults to when reading aloud. I found myself imagining reading the words I was hearing, and thinking they'd seem so much smarter and more engaging in that medium. If the content of this audiobook were any less excellent than it is, I'd have stopped listening almost immediately and tried to get my credit back.

Solid guidance with Structure

Writing a review since a prior review gave a low rating with which I disagree, namely the notion that this subject is commonsensical. If you are a terrific conversationalist I suppose so, you’ve come to aspects of the guidance here on your own. But I don’t think that’s true for many today, especially younger persons who do not have the robust social skills building opportunities my generation did (I’m a child psychiatrist and have my ears tuned to books that could be useful for young adults). I also liked the research underpinnings and references, and the author’s own road to coming to this topic (viz. not a salesman or self help guru who decided they have a great idea to share).

Something for all levels of communication!

Great insight backed by impressive research. Found to be a great reality check for current ways of conversation while offering a wide variety of every day conversation enhancements. Great Read/Listen!

Good applicable insights

i liked the way this book was written, it contained lots of useful, applicable information.

Not very informative/boring.

The reader was sing songy and not very effective in bringing what little information was offered in this read.

Not practical

I thought it would give practical advice on communicating, but it was a disappointment. I don’t feel like gained anything.

Too perky and banal

The overly enthusiastic narration makes it very difficult to stay with the author; an object lesson in “don’t narrate your own books, hire a professional”. I didn’t get far due to the degree to which this made listening a chore. But what I did hear amounted to a little history about conversation and Kant that felt straight out of Encyclopedia Britannica and some advice that any sentient being who regularly speaks with others would have figured out by the time they were 20. Tiresome.

Meh, Underwhelmed

I was hoping this book would immediately cut the fluff and get straight to the point, but there was a slew of uninspiring anecdotes. I wouldn’t recommend this book. You’re better off going to YouTube.