BY ALISON WOOD BROOKS

TALK: The science of conversation and the art of being ourselves

TALK takes us inside the world of conversation, giving us the confidence and the advice to approach any interaction with more confidence and creativity.

Conversation is a surprisingly complicated puzzle. TALK is an easy-to-use, comprehensive framework to help you navigate the many micro-challenges and opportunities you face in conversation: What should you talk about? When should you ask a question? What should you ask? When should I share something of myself? How can you make small talk less painful?

ORDER HERE

Understanding the science of conversation helps us master the art of being ourselves.

What People Are Saying

GET YOUR FREE TALK WORKBOOK

Ready to put the science of conversation into practice?

Sign up to get access to the TALK Workbook, a free companion to the TALK book. It includes hundreds of topics and exercises designed to help you reflect on your conversations and practice new skills with friends and colleagues.

Plus, join the email list for occasional updates from Alison. (You’ll only get the good stuff!)

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Try a TALK Technique: Practicing Call-Backs

One of the most powerful ways to show you’re actually listening is through your words.

What’s a call-back? A call-back is when you repeat or reference something said earlier in a conversation—a catchphrase, a funny detail, or an idea that stuck with you. Call-backs show you’ve been listening, make people feel valued, and are almost always entertaining.

Ready to practice? I’ve partnered with Mindless, Inc. to create a game that allows you to practice call-backs. Here’s how it works:

  • Start a conversation with our chatbot, and look for the catchphrase marked with a star.
  • Weave it back into the conversation later (this is your call-back).
  • The longer you can go in the conversation before making a call-back, the higher you’ll score. (But the bigger win is building a habit you’ll use in real life). Woot!

Developed by MindlessPlay logo. Play more games like this at mindlessplay.com.

Developed by MindlessPlay logo. Play more games like this at mindlessplay.com.