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The leading Harvard professor shows how we can all become better at conversation – and why this will help us all thrive

Conversation is at the heart of our relationships and our decision-making. From meeting a colleague to saying goodnight to our loved ones, our days are filled with verbal communication -- but the science of everyday conversation is little known. We may spend time thinking about difficult exchanges, but research shows that there’s room to improve seemingly easy interactions too.

In Talk, Harvard professor Alison Wood Brooks shows how simple changes in how we communicate can enhance our relationships, our performance at work and our lives; who we talk to affects our happiness; and how to talk across differences. Her original research, based on thousands of conversations from sales calls to speed dating, provides fascinating insights.

For instance:

• We spend much more time thinking about what we'll wear to an occasion than thinking about what we'll say when we get there
• The author’s own research on the surprising power of questions reveals the superpower of follow-up questions – especially when dating
• Managers who were randomly assigned to make one joke in one conversation were more likely to be voted into leadership positions

Learning to converse even a little more effectively can make a big difference. Through her original TALK framework – Topics, Asking, Levity and Kindness – Wood Brooks will give you the tools that her MBA students say transforms their lives. Bringing together psychology, linguistics, sociology and neuroscience, Talk will show how we can use science to help us enrich our lives, one conversation at a time.

© Alison Wood Brooks 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025