Showing results by publisher "Penguin Audio" in Communication & Social Skills

In The Art of Conversation, Catherine Blyth eloquently points out the sorry state of disrepair that conversation has fallen into - and then, taking examples from history, literature, philosophy, anthropology, and popular culture, she gives us the tools to rebuild. Her prose embodies the conversational values she promotes: It's smart, succinct, self-deprecating, and light on its feet.

How do we say what we truly mean? How can we learn to listen with compassion and understanding? How do we find true connection with one another? Celebrated Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh shares the five steps to truly mindful communication. Drawing on his experience working with couples, families, colleagues and even on international conflict, the world's most famous monk has created a simple guide to communicating with yourself, others and the world.

Does the thought of delivering a presentation make your heart skip a beat? Do your pitches fall flat no matter how much preparation you put in? Are you often comparing yourself to more eloquent speakers and wondering how they capture the room? At some point in our careers we will need to speak in front of an audience, whether to present our ideas to a group of five in a meeting, pitch for investment in front of a panel or deliver a keynote speech to 1,000 delegates. Yet glossophobia, or the fear of public speaking, is incredibly common.

What would happen if a shy introvert lived like a gregarious extrovert for one year? If she knowingly and willingly put herself in perilous social situations that she’d normally avoid at all costs? Jessica Pan is going to find out. When she found herself jobless and friendless, sitting in the familiar Jess-shaped crease on her sofa, she couldn't help but wonder what life might have looked like if she had been a little more open to new experiences and new people, a little less attached to going home instead of going to the pub.

In an increasingly polarised world, asking better questions in our daily and working lives is a radical shortcut to personal and professional success. It can create space for us to rethink our positions, find answers together and even change our minds for the better.

How would you act if you didn't care what people thought? Who would you be if you knew for sure that you were worthy, loved and accepted? What would you do if you knew failure was just a stepping-stone, not a final resting place? How much more time and energy would you have if you could confidently say no and ask for what you want? Brave New Girl is a straightforward guide to building more self-belief and reducing the need to people-please. 

Project management is an essential skill for anyone who needs to get things done in any organisation, and is absolutely critical for anyone leading strategic change. In Lead Successful Projects, the Penguin Business Expert guide, Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, introduces a simplified but strategic approach to project management developed over the last 20 years coaching executives, managers and MBAs. Learn how to break down your project into manageable elements, define smart goals and meet them in this concise and practical guide to project success.

Do you have a heightened sense of empathy? Do you often notice details that others ignore? Do you ever feel overwhelmed in a busy, loud environment? If you answered yes to any of those questions, chances are you're a 'highly sensitive person', along with one fifth of the population. Highly sensitive people exemplify our most humane traits. They embody not just emotional sensitivity - qualities like empathy, kindness, and concern for strangers - but physical sensitivity too, processing all information very deeply.

Are you overshadowed by the narcissists in your life? Are you worn out by their constant demands for attention, their absolute belief they are right (even when clearly they are not), their determination to do what they want (regardless of impact) and their baffling need to control everyone and everything around them? In this thought-provoking, sanity-saving book, Thomas Erikson helps you understand what makes narcissists tick and, crucially, how to handle them without wearing yourself out in the process.

You're always negotiating. Whether making a business deal, talking to friends or booking a holiday, negotiation is going on. And most of us are terrible at it. Experts tell us to negotiate as if we live in a rational world. But people can be angry, fearful and irrational. To achieve your goals you have to be able to deal with the unpredictable. In Getting More, negotiation expert Stuart Diamond reveals the real secrets behind getting more in any negotiation - whatever more means to you. Getting More is accessible, jargon-free, innovative...and it works.

Therapist Chloe Brotheridge has used the latest scientific research and her own personal experience to create a programme that has already helped thousands of her clients to overcome anxiety. The Anxiety Solution will provide you with simple yet powerful practical tools to help you manage your symptoms and start feeling better every day. Chloe will help you to understand why we feel anxious in the first place and equips you with techniques to help manage the symptoms and start living a happier, more confident life.

The lifeblood of any free society is persuasion: changing other people's minds to enable real change. But America is suffering a crisis of faith in persuasion that is putting its democracy and the planet itself at risk. People increasingly write each other off instead of seeking to win each other over. In The Persuaders best-selling author Anand Giridharadas takes us inside these movements and battles, seeking out the dissenters who continue to champion persuasion in an age of polarisation.

In No Hard Feelings, you'll learn how to navigate the emotional minefield that is the modern workplace, and express your feelings and identity at work. After all, the financial success of the 21st century depends on it. Without the ability to communicate and correct stress, we risk burnout. Without emotions, we cannot make decisions, influence others, or be creative. As our jobs become more collaborative, complex, and stressful - as well as the centre of our identities - effectively embracing emotion will only become more important.

Never mind growing up; it's time we grew down. There are some 400 million people worldwide whose creativity, curiosity and determination put the rest of us to shame. They are experts in their field but have no experience to speak of. Once, you were one of them, too. They are toddlers - and they hold the key to unlocking our potential as adults, at work and in life. In Little Wins, Ella's Kitchen founder Paul Lindley reveals the nine characteristics and behaviours that we can all learn from recalling our toddler selves.

The world has changed, and the revelations of the #MeToo movement have raised serious questions about how men are raised to understand consent and their own sexuality. Respect is the first guide to sexual health and relationships built around consent. Inti Chavez Perez draws on his vast experience as a sex educator to lay out how to build positive, respectful relationships with friends and partners, and how consent factors in at every stage from introducing yourself to having healthy sexual relationships with others.

Through their work with organisations and companies across the world, Maggie Semple and Jane Oremosu found that there was a need to help people as they discussed difference, race and inclusion. My Little Black Book: A Blacktionary aims to do just that. This A-Z pocket guide is for people who are entering the workplace and finding their identity, for leaders and managers who feel overwhelmed by ever-evolving definitions and phrases, for anyone who is afraid of saying the wrong thing and being judged.

In this groundbreaking new book behavioural experts Stephen Martin and Joseph Marks pinpoint the eight powerful traits that determine who gets heard and who gets ignored. They show how such apparently irrelevant details as a person’s appearance or their financial status influence our response to what they have to say, regardless of its wisdom or foolishness. They explain how trust is won, even when it may not be deserved. They analyse the nature of the charismatic speaker and the verbal and physical cues they employ.

Having a seat at the table doesn't mean that your voice gets heard. Knowing something is wrong doesn't make it easy to speak up. But this silencing - intentional or not - has profound consequences on our work and life. It blocks talent, skews decisions and causes teams and individuals to fail. So what if there was another way? Elaine Lin Hering delves into the roots of silence, examining the patterns that keep us trapped, and showcases the impact that rewiring unconscious behaviours can have on innovation, creativity and collaboration.

Do you often lose arguments? Do you get frustrated because you can't get your way? Is your boss too dismissive? Do you have trouble persuading people to agree with you? Would you love to quietly get your way with the people around you, instead of shouting to make yourself heard? And how satisfying would it be if they felt happier about it too? These easy strategies for communicating with the important people in your life all take a minute or less.

Cats rank among the world's top negotiators. They get humans to do what they want, when they want. So if you could learn to persuade a cat to do what you wanted, then any human - colleague, friend, boss, partner, or even your most cantankerous relative - would bow to your magic. This audiobook teaches you all the tricks you need to get along with even the most stubborn adversary.