
Talk
The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves
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Narrated by:
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Alison Wood Brooks
About this listen
A groundbreaking book that reveals the hidden architecture of our conversations and how even small improvements can have a profound impact on our relationships in work and life—from a celebrated Harvard Business School professor and leading expert on the psychology of conversation.
“Alison Wood Brooks brings to life the science of conversation, in which she is a world expert, with the utmost warmth, empathy, and joy.”—Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit
All of us can struggle with difficult conversations, but we’re often not very good at the easy ones either. Though we do it all the time, Harvard professor Alison Wood Brooks argues that conversation is one of the most complex, demanding, and delicate of all human tasks, rife with possibilities for misinterpretation and misunderstanding. And yet conversations can also be a source of great joy, each one offering an opportunity to express who we are and learn who others are—to feel connected, loved, and alive.
In Talk, Brooks shows why conversing a little more effectively can make a big difference in the quality of our close personal relationships as well as our professional success. Drawing on the new science of conversation, Brooks distills lessons that show how we can better understand, learn from, and delight each other.
The key is her TALK Maxims:
Topics: Choose topics and manage them well
Asking: Ask more questions
Levity: Use humor to keep conversations fizzy
Kindness: Prioritize their partners conversational needs
Through experiments ranging across the conversational spectrum—from speed daters who ask too few questions (or too many), to future business leaders averse to topic forethought, to traffic stops that reveal the essence of kind language—Brooks takes us inside the world of conversation, giving us the confidence and the advice to approach any interaction with more creativity and compassion.
Addressing our face-to-face conversations as well as those we have by phone, email, text, and social media, Talk is a thoughtful guide for anyone seeking to better establish and sustain their relationships. From managing our emotions and sparking creativity to navigating conflict and being more inclusive, the right conversation skills just might be the key to leading a more purposeful life.
* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF containing visual supplements and the Appendix, from the printed book.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2025 Alison Wood Brooks (P)2025 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Tell a stranger that you talk to yourself, and you’re likely to get written off as eccentric. But the truth is that we all have a voice in our head. When we talk to ourselves, we often hope to tap into our inner coach but find our inner critic instead. When we’re facing a tough task, our inner coach can buoy us up: Focus - you can do this. But, just as often, our inner critic sinks us entirely: I’m going to fail. They’ll all laugh at me. What’s the use?
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Critic reviews
“In Talk, Alison Wood Brooks mines years of data from her studies at Harvard Business School, where she has dissected parole hearings, speed dates, sales calls and friendly chats to discern the keys to effective communication. . . . Brooks is a companionable writer, and she’s alive to the absurdity inherent in her project. Talk is messy, and good talk messier still.”—The New York Times
“Talk is that rarest of treats: smart, insightful, immediately useful, and way more fun to read than should be allowed. . . . This audiobook gave us fresh ideas that we put into practice immediately on friends, family, clients, and colleagues. Talk has changed how we think about what it means for two people to really talk to each other.”—Sheila Heen and Doug Stone, bestselling co-authors of Difficult Conversations
“For many, one of the lost arts in modern life is conversation. Alison Wood Brooks’s wonderful new book, Talk, has the solution. Listen this book, and your life will improve.”—Arthur C. Brooks, Harvard professor and #1 New York Times bestselling author
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The toolkit I never knew that I needed
- By Tyler L on 02-07-25
By: Ethan Kross
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Supercommunicators
- How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
- By: Charles Duhigg
- Narrated by: Charles Duhigg
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Come inside a jury room as one juror leads a starkly divided room to consensus. Join a young CIA officer as he recruits a reluctant foreign agent. And sit with an accomplished surgeon as he tries, and fails, to convince yet another cancer patient to opt for the less risky course of treatment. In Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg blends deep research and his trademark storytelling skills to show how we can all learn to identify and leverage the hidden layers that lurk beneath every conversation.
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Valuable advice and information.
- By Cheryl J. on 03-13-24
By: Charles Duhigg
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Less Than Human
- Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others
- By: David Livingstone Smith
- Narrated by: Peter Lerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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A revelatory look at why we dehumanize each other, with stunning examples from world history as well as today's headlines.
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Other
- By spot on 03-28-21
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The Next Conversation
- Argue Less, Talk More
- By: Jefferson Fisher
- Narrated by: Jefferson Fisher
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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No matter who you’re talking to, The Next Conversation gives you immediately actionable strategies and phrases that will forever change how you communicate. Jefferson Fisher, trial lawyer and one of the leading voices on real-world communication, offers a tried-and-true framework that will show you how to transform your life and your relationships by improving your next conversation.
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Solid info
- By Amazon Customer on 03-20-25
By: Jefferson Fisher
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Crazy Salad and Scribble, Scribble
- Some Things About Women and Notes on Media
- By: Nora Ephron
- Narrated by: Kathe Mazur
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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This edition brings together some of Ephron’s most famous writing on a generation of women (and men) who helped shape the way we live now, and on events ranging from the Watergate scandal to the Pillsbury Bake-Off. In these sharp, hilariously entertaining, and vividly observed pieces, Ephron illuminates an era with wicked honesty and insight. From the famous "A Few Words About Breasts" to important pieces on her time working for the New York Post and Gourmet Magazine, these essays show Ephron at her very best.
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Don't waste your credit
- By Cindy on 08-26-13
By: Nora Ephron
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Inspire
- The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others
- By: Adam Galinsky
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Social psychologist and leadership expert Adam Galinsky has spent three decades building a method for determining when we are inspiring versus infuriating, and where various leaders—presidents, CEOs, coaches, teachers, parents, and a wealth of others—currently land on that spectrum. Galinsky shows how inspiring leaders can fill us with a wellspring of hope and possibility as they guide us to become better versions of ourselves. In contrast, infuriating leaders disappoint and annoy, fueling seething cauldrons of rage.
By: Adam Galinsky
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Labor of Love
- The Invention of Dating
- By: Moira Weigel
- Narrated by: Kyra Miller
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Weaving together over 100 years of history with scenes from the contemporary landscape, Labor of Love offers a fresh feminist perspective on how we came to date the ways we do. This isn't a guide to "getting the guy". There are no ridiculous "rules" to follow. Instead Weigel helps us understand how looking for love shapes who we are and hopefully leads us closer to the happy ending that dating promises.
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Not Meant To Be Useful, But Quite Fun
- By Gillian on 02-14-17
By: Moira Weigel
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Think Faster, Talk Smarter
- How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot
- By: Matt Abrahams
- Narrated by: Matt Abrahams
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Many of us dread having to convey our ideas to others, often feeling ill-equipped, anxious, and awkward. Public speaking experts help by focusing on planned communication experiences such as slide presentations, pitches, or formal talks. Yet, most of our professional and personal communication occurs in spontaneous situations that creep up on us and all too often leave us flustered and stumbling for words. Stanford lecturer, podcast host, and communication expert Matt Abrahams provides tangible, actionable skills to help even the most anxious of speakers succeed when speaking spontaneously.
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For beginners
- By KnowlegeIsPower on 09-28-24
By: Matt Abrahams
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How to Talk to Anyone
- Communication Strategies to Unlock Networking Skills, Gain Confidence, and Master Conversations for Social and Professional Success
- By: Deborah Meyers
- Narrated by: Hope March
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Unlock the communication skills that will transform you into a confident, engaging conversationalist—whether in social settings, networking events, or professional environments. Does it seem like others effortlessly connect while you’re stuck in small talk? Do networking events fill you with dread? You’re not alone! Research shows that 85% of job success comes from strong communication skills, yet many struggle in this vital area.
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Master Conversations
- By M.Rauch on 03-25-25
By: Deborah Meyers
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Reset
- How to Change What's Not Working
- By: Dan Heath
- Narrated by: Dan Heath
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In Reset, Heath explores a framework for getting unstuck and making the changes that matter. The secret is to find “leverage points”: places where a little bit of effort can yield a disproportionate return. Then, we can thoughtfully rearrange our resources to push on those points.
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Accompanying PDF has chapter summaries
- By JOHN B SHRADER on 02-07-25
By: Dan Heath
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Cues
- Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication
- By: Vanessa Van Edwards
- Narrated by: Vanessa Van Edwards
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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What makes someone charismatic? Why do some captivate a room, while others have trouble managing a small meeting? What makes some ideas spread, while other good ones fall by the wayside? If you have ever been interrupted in meetings, overlooked for career opportunities or had your ideas ignored, your cues may be the problem - and the solution.
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I wish I had chosen a hard copy of the book…
- By JenMcL on 07-14-22
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The Joy of Well-Being
- A Practical Guide to a Happy, Healthy, and Long Life
- By: Colleen Wachob, Jason Wachob
- Narrated by: Jennifer Pickens
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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On your journey toward a more health-conscious life, you’ve likely been bombarded by an overwhelming amount of information Over the past decade, Colleen and Jason Wachob, co-founders of mindbodygreen, have cultivated a leading wellness lifestyle media brand for everyone seeking to cut through the noise, and live a happier, healthier, and greener lifestyle. The Joy of Well-Being is a distillation of almost fifteen years of this experience on the forefront of the well-being conversation: they’ve done the legwork so you don’t have to.
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One to share
- By Lynette Garet on 06-01-23
By: Colleen Wachob, and others
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Captivate
- The Science of Succeeding with People
- By: Vanessa Van Edwards
- Narrated by: Vanessa Van Edwards
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Do you wish you could decode people? Do you want to know exactly what to say to your boss, your date, or your networking partner? You need to know how people work. As a human behavior investigator, Vanessa Van Edwards studies the hidden forces that drive our behavior patterns in her lab—and she's cracked the code. In Captivate she shares a wealth of valuable shortcuts, systems, and behavior hacks for taking charge of their interactions at work, at home, and in any social situation.
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Eh
- By Dale on 04-30-17
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Defy
- The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes
- By: Dr. Sunita Sah
- Narrated by: Dr. Sunita Sah
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Many of us comply much more than we realize. How many times have you wanted to object, disagree, or opt out of something but ended up swallowing your words, shaking your head, and just going along? Analyzing cases ranging from corporate corruption and sexual abuse to everyday acquiescence at work, the doctor’s office, and in our personal lives, award-winning organizational psychologist Dr. Sunita Sah delves deep into why the pressure to comply is a corrosive and often invisible force in our society.
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Impactful
- By Allison Fullhart on 05-01-25
By: Dr. Sunita Sah
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How the Mind Changed
- A Human History of Our Evolving Brain
- By: Joseph Jebelli
- Narrated by: Joe Eyre
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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We’ve come a long way. The earliest human had a brain as small as a child’s fist; ours are four times bigger, with spectacular abilities and potential we are only just beginning to understand. This is How the Mind Changed, a seven-million-year journey through our own heads, packed with vivid stories, groundbreaking science, and thrilling surprises. Discover how memory has almost nothing to do with the past.
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Great book for a lot of reasons
- By R. Williams on 01-21-25
By: Joseph Jebelli
...which I can only take in small chunks, because the narration commits what to me is a cardinal sin: endless repetition of the up-down-up-down-up-down inflection that every English-speaking amateur defaults to when reading aloud. I found myself imagining reading the words I was hearing, and thinking they'd seem so much smarter and more engaging in that medium. If the content of this audiobook were any less excellent than it is, I'd have stopped listening almost immediately and tried to get my credit back.
Excellent, important content. But the narration...
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Solid guidance with Structure
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Something for all levels of communication!
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Good applicable insights
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Not very informative/boring.
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Not practical
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Too perky and banal
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Meh, Underwhelmed
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