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Talk

The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves

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Talk

By: Alison Wood Brooks
Narrated by: Alison Wood Brooks
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

You might already consider yourself a stellar conversationalist, but could you be even better? This book will help enrich your life, one conversation at a time.

Conversation is at the heart of our relationships and decision-making - but the science behind our everyday interactions, and how to improve them, is little known.

In Talk, Harvard Professor Alison Wood Brooks provides fascinating insights into the power of effective communication. She gives you the tools that her MBA students say transform their lives, bringing together psychology, linguistics, sociology and neuroscience in her original framework:

T – Topics – including the surprising impact of preparing topics before a conversation
A – Asking – why we need to do more (and why we do less than we think)
L – Levity – how to find the fun in conversations with anyone
K – Kindness – how to be a better listener and not simply pretend to be one!

Through her own original research, Brooks shows readers how small changes in how we communicate can make a big difference to our relationships, our careers and our lives.


'Ground-breaking research that changed my life' Mel Robbins

'Reading TALK is like having a conversation with the world's best conversationalist' Angela Duckworth

© Alison Wood Brooks 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Biological Sciences Business Communication Career Success Communication & Social Skills Personal Development Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Relationships Science Words, Language & Grammar
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Critic Reviews

It’s hard to overstate the importance of conversation in life and at work. In this brilliantly-crafted new book, author Alison Wood Brooks explains when and why conversations breakdown, drag on, or otherwise disappoint, and when and why they flow effortlessly to build mutual understanding. TALK will be a welcome gift for anyone who wants to have better, more effective, and more rewarding conversations with friends, family, colleagues, and even strangers. (Amy C. Edmondson)
Appropriately enough, reading TALK is like having a conversation with the world's best conversationalist. Alison Wood Brooks brings to life the science of conversation, in which she is a world expert, with the utmost warmth, empathy, and joy. The perfect combination of stories and science, maxims and examples, this book has raised my game as a conversationalist. I'm recommending it to everyone I know (Angela Duckworth)
TALK is a rigorously researched, evidence-based book by a leader in the field. On top of this, it's a joy to read — a killer combination. (Emily Oster)
Alison Wood Brooks has crafted a thing of beauty; a thorough look at how we communicate, why we communicate, and how to unlock the power of communication with this fantastic book TALK. We will all be quietly planning talk topics, asking more questions, bringing joy, and finding empathy towards one another after reading this book. There are too many ah-ha moments to count in this book so just do yourself a favor and start reading it! (Anthony Veneziale)
TALK is, by far, the most useful book I’ve read in a long time. Just two chapters into it, I found myself having more enjoyable and meaningful conversations with everyone from receptionists to the person I live with. The writing is witty and wise, and each chapter is crammed with fascinating stories and astonishing research discoveries. Get this book! (Teresa Amabile)
For many, one of the lost arts in modern life is conversation. Alison Wood Brooks’ wonderful new book TALK: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves has the solution. Read this book, and your life will improve. (Arthur C. Brooks)
In TALK, Alison Wood Brooks, one of behavioral science’s superstars, teaches us how to have more productive, engaging and humane conversations. Witty, science-driven and filled with compelling insights and stories, TALK is a modern classic. (Ethan Kross)
Builds a convincing case for practicing and better understanding the elements that shape good conversation. Lucid and pragmatic, this unlocks some of the mysteries of human communication.
All stars
Most relevant
I so greatly enjoyed listening to this book. It’s interesting, thoughtful and practical. The way Alison Wood Brooks weaves evidence and narrative is skilled and compelling. Highly recommended.

Engaging and practical

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With anecdotes and research to match Alisons work very effectively illuminated some blind spots in my day to day small talk but even more importantly it gave me a more nuanced way to frame so many of the day to day interactions i have. Interactions that i have viewed as more forced and fake that i would try to avoid are now reframed as a necessary stepping stone to get to much more authentic places. Its worth pointing out that a interesting podcast episode led me to this book and i wasnt looking for a self help book but found it argued its premise well and backed it with statistics.

Short and easily digestible.

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It is disrespectful that the author not only appropriated the term boomerang, but used it to describe a negative conversation concept.

Inappropriate Cultural Appropriation

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.