Conversationally Speaking: Tested New Ways to Increase Your Personal and Social Effectiveness, Updated 2021 Edition - Softcover

Caporaletti, Amanda Goodwin; Garner, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1565656296 ISBN 13: 9781565656291

Publisher: McGraw Hill, 1997

Synopsis

*ALMOST 1 MILLION SOLD!* Conversationally Speaking has become the most popular book in the world teaching conversation skills.  Millions of people have used it to learn the secrets of effective communication. This revised edition provides more ways to improve your conversation skills by giving you strategies that work for starting conversations, asking questions that promote interaction, interesting people in what you have to say, listening so that others will be encouraged to talk, avoiding rejection-producing behavior, handling criticism constructively, and more..Everybody thinks that some people are born with the "gift of gab" and some people aren't. But the truth is there is no "gift of gab." People who are good at conversation just know a few simple skills that anyone can learn.  This book will teach you those skills..Chapter 12 uniquely summarizes in 25 pages the life's work of famed psychologist Dr. Albert Ellis on overcoming shyness and becoming more confident- and does it so well it received praise from Dr. Ellis himself!.Find out why Toastmaster Magazine calls Conversationally Speaking "the classic how-to book in social communication" and why Dr. Aaron Beck, whose work has had a major influence on thousands of psychologists, calls it "of great value for people who want to sharpen their skills in interpersonal relations."  Click on the "Look Inside" feature above the cover picture and sample the book.                           

About this title

From the Author:

I teach these skills because I once needed to learn them- and nobody was there to help me.  I had no friends, was not at all socially confident, was wandering around Europe after having dropped out of UCLA because of loneliness and depression. .One day I stumbled upon an article about some universities which were teaching conversation skills to groups like men who never date, women who have no friends, and couples who seldom talk to each other.  After learning these skills, the men, women and couples all did considerably better..I was intrigued, and made it a point to learn these skills upon my return.  Much to my amazement, they worked!  It was as though I'd been trying to drink soup with a fork or cut a steak with a spoon- the wrong tools.  Once I had the right tools, the right skills, things went considerably smoother..My life improved so dramatically, I decided to dedicate myself to teaching these skills to others.  I finished UCLA and went to a master's program at the University of Oregon that focused on teaching social skills. .After I graduated, I returned to California, got a job teaching speech at a junior college, and devoted the rest of my time to teaching these skills to students at community service and university extension programs throughout the state. I also began training others to teach these skills and began working on Conversationally Speaking, the book you now have in your hands- or in your Kindle..There's a special chapter there- Chapter 12- that I want to draw your attention to.  In it, I attempt to summarize what Dr. Albert Ellis and Dr. Aaron Beck, the modern founders of cognitive therapy, teach about becoming less shy and more confident. I'm especially interested that you read that chapter- and proud that both Drs. were kind enough to endorse this book..It's now many years later and I and others have taught these skills all over the world. Conversationally Speaking has become the most popular book ever written for teaching social skills- with almost 1 million copies sold..  I do hope you enjoy this book and practice the skills I teach in it.  Being able to teach you was always my dream.

From the Inside Flap:

     Most people think that some of us are born with the "gift of gab" and some of us aren't.  But the truth is that there is no "gift of gab."  People who are good at conversation just know a few simple skills that anyone can learn.     These skills are like tools.  Imagine trying to hammer a nail-- with a screwdriver.  Or cut wood-- with a shovel.  Very difficult.  It would take you five times as long, and you'd still end up doing a bad job.  A screwdriver and a shovel simply aren't the right tools.  But, with the right tools-- a hammer and a saw-- you could do these jobs well and with very little effort.     The same is true for conversational tools and skills.  You do the best with what skills you have, but the skills you have often aren't right for the job.  Consequently, you don't do nearly as well socially as you might.     Conversationally Speaking is designed to teach you these skills.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGraw Hill
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1565656296
• ISBN 13: 9781565656291
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 224