Being in a relationship without knowing how to share your feelings and receive your partner’s feelings in useful ways is like jumping into a pool without knowing how to swim. You can flail around all you want, but it’s not going to keep you afloat for very long—you need to be able to move in any direction at will. Like swimming, knowing how to share your feelings and respond to your partner's feelings will move your relationship in the direction you want: toward more intimacy, closeness, connection, and trust.

Some of us are natural-born empaths - those with an exceptional gift for feeling and understanding the emotions, circumstances, and needs of others. But empathy, teaches Karla McLaren, is a universal human skill that we can all learn to awaken and use wisely. With The Art of Empathy, you will learn, step-by-step, the art of experiencing through the eyes and hearts of those around you - and to connect with and support them most effectively.

Just as Masters and Johnson were pioneers in the study of human sexuality, so Dr. John Gottman has revolutionized the study of marriage. As a professor of psychology at the University of Washington and the founder and director of the Seattle Marital and Family Institute, he has studied the habits of married couples in unprecedented detail over the course of many years. His findings, and his heavily attended workshops, have already turned around thousands of faltering marriages.

Talk to Me like I'm Someone You Love is a brilliant interactive relationship tool that can help couples stop arguing and begin healing. This revised edition features two new sections - one on making love and another on deepening trust - containing more than 25 new "flash cards for real life", statements that hold the power to express what we wish we could say to the person we love but for which we can't find either the right words or the right tone in which to say them.

No matter how much advice we get or how much work we do on our “stuff,” nothing ever seems to make the difference. The truth of it is, you’re woefully ill-equipped for one of the most life-defining things you will ever take on—being in a committed relationship. Whether you’re currently in one, want to be in one, half in–half out, getting over one, married, single, separated, divorced, or just overwhelmed with the whole thing, let’s cut through the morass of relationship schtick and put you back in charge.

Do you find it difficult communicating with your spouse? Are you tired of arguing and fighting with your spouse whenever you try to communicate? Is your spouse not talking to you anymore? You are not alone. Many couples (including us) have had to deal with these communication problems at some point in marriage, and it's not fun! But don't worry. No matter what communication problems you struggle with, you can learn how to communicate effectively with your spouse today.

We already rely on science to tell us what to eat, when to exercise, and how long to sleep. Why not use science to help us improve our relationships? In this revolutionary book, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Amir Levine and Rachel Heller scientifically explain why some people seem to navigate relationships effortlessly, while others struggle.

When you said, “I do”, you entered marriage with high hopes, dreaming it would be supremely happy. You never intended for it to be miserable. Millions of couples are struggling in desperate marriages. But the story doesn’t have to end there. Dr. Gary Chapman writes, “I believe that in every troubled marriage, one or both partners can take positive steps that have the potential for changing the emotional climate in their marriage.”

To listen actively is to listen with complete attention and an engaged mind and body. And, while it may come naturally to some, it's also a skill that can be honed through practice. Active Listening Techniques will help you do just that, so you can ensure the people around you feel respected, understood, and heard. Through 30 practical communication tools, you'll acquire the skills you need to better get your message across, allowing you to cultivate healthier personal relationships, achieve greater career success, and more.

Negative thinking—it seems to have no end. The question is, can anything be done about it? Negative thinking is a self-perpetuating mechanism. Negative thinking fuels more negative thinking, which in turn fuels even more. Around and around it goes, never losing steam or momentum. All the while, you’re utterly fatigued and exhausted. Ten years can go by, and the mind-numbing cycle still will not have stopped. Because it’s self-sustaining, negative thinking only grows stronger with each passing month, year, and decade. Can it be stopped?

Feel disconnected from your spouse or partner? Struggle to keep your relationship fresh? Worried that everything will end in heartbreak? It's easy to fall in love. The challenging part is keeping that spark alive while you and your partner deal with "the real world." Your relationship can often seem less urgent than the day-to-day emergencies that you deal with - your job, finances, children, and that to-do list full of chores. They all demand your immediate attention. So how do you find the time to nurture your love and intimacy?

Do you find yourself creating elaborate stories about their whereabouts, none of them good? If constant overthinking is turning your happy relationship into a battlefield, you're not alone. This book will be your lifeline. It dives deep into the toxic thoughts that can creep into any relationship, whispering doubts and insecurities. You'll learn how these overactive mental gymnastics can sabotage your connection and leave you feeling anxious and drained.

Men are right. The "relationship talk" does not help. Dr. Patricia Love’s and Dr. Steven Stosny’s How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It reveals the stunning truth about marital happiness: Love is not about better communication. It's about connection.

The book that revolutionized business communications has been updated for today's workplace. Crucial Conversations provides powerful skills to ensure every conversation - especially difficult ones - leads to the results you want. Written in an engaging and witty style, it teaches listeners how to be persuasive rather than abrasive, how to get back to productive dialogue when others blow up or clam up, and it offers powerful skills for mastering high-stakes conversations, regardless of the topic or person.

No matter how much you and your husband or boyfriend love each other, sometimes what you say (or don’t say) and how you say it can get in the way. This book will show you what could be problematic with your conversations that you aren’t even aware of and offer helpful tips and strategies to break old patterns and change the dynamics of how you communicate and connect as a couple.

Being in a relationship without knowing how to share your feelings and receive your partner’s feelings in useful ways is like jumping into a pool without knowing how to swim. You can flail around all you want, but it’s not going to keep you afloat for very long—you need to be able to move in any direction at will. Like swimming, knowing how to share your feelings and respond to your partner's feelings will move your relationship in the direction you want: toward more intimacy, closeness, connection, and trust.

How to Listen, Hear, and Validate is all about our top communication struggle - our tendency to react instead of respond, and forget that our goal is to build bridges rather than walls. You’ll learn what you’ve been doing wrong, and why your efforts at getting closer to people - in deep or light manners - have failed. You’ll learn actionable techniques and frameworks to have the most productive conversations of your life - ones that will walk away with people praising how empathetic you are.

To listen actively is to listen with complete attention and an engaged mind and body. And, while it may come naturally to some, it's also a skill that can be honed through practice. Active Listening Techniques will help you do just that, so you can ensure the people around you feel respected, understood, and heard. Through 30 practical communication tools, you'll acquire the skills you need to better get your message across, allowing you to cultivate healthier personal relationships, achieve greater career success, and more.

Talk to Me like I'm Someone You Love is a brilliant interactive relationship tool that can help couples stop arguing and begin healing. This revised edition features two new sections - one on making love and another on deepening trust - containing more than 25 new "flash cards for real life", statements that hold the power to express what we wish we could say to the person we love but for which we can't find either the right words or the right tone in which to say them.

At work, we’re taught to lead the conversation. On social media, we shape our personal narratives. At parties, we talk over one another. So do our politicians. We’re not listening. And no one is listening to us. Despite living in a world where technology allows constant digital communication and opportunities to connect, it seems no one is really listening or even knows how. And it’s making us lonelier, more isolated, and less tolerant than ever before. A listener by trade, New York Times contributor Kate Murphy wanted to know how we got here.

Master the Art of Protecting Yourself while Embracing Meaningful Connections Trusting others is a natural part of life, but how can we be sure we’re placing our trust in the right people? Awareness is the first step and it begins with understanding the subtle signs that differentiate harmless quirks from real red flags. It’s not about living in fear—it’s about developing the confidence to recognize when someone’s behavior feels “off” and knowing how to respond. By sharpening our intuition, learning about common manipulation tactics, and paying attention to patterns over time, ...

Some of us are natural-born empaths - those with an exceptional gift for feeling and understanding the emotions, circumstances, and needs of others. But empathy, teaches Karla McLaren, is a universal human skill that we can all learn to awaken and use wisely. With The Art of Empathy, you will learn, step-by-step, the art of experiencing through the eyes and hearts of those around you - and to connect with and support them most effectively.

Do you find it difficult communicating with your spouse? Are you tired of arguing and fighting with your spouse whenever you try to communicate? Is your spouse not talking to you anymore? You are not alone. Many couples (including us) have had to deal with these communication problems at some point in marriage, and it's not fun! But don't worry. No matter what communication problems you struggle with, you can learn how to communicate effectively with your spouse today.

“Mind-set” is a word that is used quite frequently, however, many of those who use it are unaware that mind-sets are foundational to and dictate one’s success in life, work, and leadership. They are also unable to identify specific mind-sets that are necessary for success. Within Success Mindsets, Ryan takes listeners on a self-awakening journey to identify and unlock the four success mind-sets necessary to enhance success across their life, work, and leadership.

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of an argument with someone who just isn’t getting it? Most of us miss out on the visual emotive cues we see during direct interpersonal communication. Without these important context clues, we struggle to grasp the intent of the messenger and often the real meaning of the message. To make matters worse, our dependence on instant communication, like text messaging and email, has resulted in forgetting how to talk to one another in person.

These days, many of us find it easier to avoid face-to-face contact in favor of technological shortcuts. Why take the trouble to meet someone in person when we can simply send an email or a text? But as Michael Gelb argues in this compelling book, the meaningful relationships that come from real interaction are the basis of success. In The Art of Connection, Gelb offers listeners seven methods of developing better rapport in their professional and personal lives.

Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist, business consultant, and coach, author Mark Goulston combines his background with the latest scientific research to help listeners turn the "impossible" and "unreachable" people in their lives into allies, devoted customers, loyal colleagues, and lifetime friends. Just Listen provides simple but powerful techniques listeners can use to really get through to people.

Negative thinking—it seems to have no end. The question is, can anything be done about it? Negative thinking is a self-perpetuating mechanism. Negative thinking fuels more negative thinking, which in turn fuels even more. Around and around it goes, never losing steam or momentum. All the while, you’re utterly fatigued and exhausted. Ten years can go by, and the mind-numbing cycle still will not have stopped. Because it’s self-sustaining, negative thinking only grows stronger with each passing month, year, and decade. Can it be stopped?

Want to learn how to make people laugh out loud? How to Make People Laugh is a book that targets regular comedians, such as you and me. It does not try to transform you into a professional comedian. Instead, it puts comedy in the spotlight of everyday life. With this book, you will learn techniques that you can easily incorporate at parties or even in regular banter with friends and colleagues.

Develop your own personal gravity with concrete skills to stand out, be noticed, and captivate people. If you (1) walk into a room and feel invisible, or (2) want to ensure you make a powerful personal impact - newsflash: you need better advice than "fake it 'til you make it" or "just be yourself". Confidently approach and excel in any social setting.