A proactive approach to mastering the art of interpersonal communication.
A media expert’s techniques for acquiring and honing clear communication skills.
After a two-decade journalism career producing and anchoring syndicated newsmagazine programs, McGowan, a former Emmy-winning TV correspondent–turned–media-coaching entrepreneur, knows the tenets of effective communication and professional presentation. From his communications training company, Clarity Media Group, he now helps everyone—from authors to CEOs to career-changing job seekers—to achieve and project a greater public confidence level. “Great communicators are not genetically predetermined,” he writes. “They are made.” His careful guidebook, written with the assistance of Bowman (co-author: Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days, 2012, etc.), steers readers away from the social faux pas and missteps (e.g., apologizing at the onset of a presentation) responsible for stalling careers and stagnating business relationships. His approach is evenhanded and straightforward and brims with advice for anyone hoping to brush up on public speaking, effective presentation skills and interviewing prowess both within and outside of the contemporary workforce marketplace. McGowan cites many relatable scenarios, including a botched first impression with a large new client (Facebook) that was rescued with positive reinforcement and a polished, professional approach. The author spends much of the text overviewing his seven principles of persuasion, a masterful “mental checklist” of key communicative behaviors that include authoritative body language, direct eye contact, attentiveness, voice tone, pacing and verbal conciseness. His “pitch-perfect pointer” and “makeover” sections further clarify these maxims and place them into real-world contexts. The author stresses that becoming a compelling speaker with engaging stage presence takes time and effort. His methodology is not meant to change the person seeking guidance but, with practice and preparation, to draw their strengths out and encourage diligence in achieving an increased level of interactive confidence.
A proactive approach to mastering the art of interpersonal communication.Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-227322-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Harper Business
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.
A well-constructed critique of an economic system that, by the author’s account, is a driver of the world’s destruction.
Harvard Business School professor Henderson vigorously questions the bromide that “management’s only duty is to maximize shareholder value,” a notion advanced by Milton Friedman and accepted uncritically in business schools ever since. By that logic, writes the author, there is no reason why corporations should not fish out the oceans, raise drug prices, militate against public education (since it costs tax money), and otherwise behave ruinously and anti-socially. Many do, even though an alternative theory of business organization argues that corporations and society should enjoy a symbiotic relationship of mutual benefit, which includes corporate investment in what economists call public goods. Given that the history of humankind is “the story of our increasing ability to cooperate at larger and larger scales,” one would hope that in the face of environmental degradation and other threats, we might adopt the symbiotic model rather than the winner-take-all one. Problems abound, of course, including that of the “free rider,” the corporation that takes the benefits from collaborative agreements but does none of the work. Henderson examines case studies such as a large food company that emphasized environmentally responsible production and in turn built “purpose-led, sustainable living brands” and otherwise led the way in increasing shareholder value by reducing risk while building demand. The author argues that the “short-termism” that dominates corporate thinking needs to be adjusted to a longer view even though the larger problem might be better characterized as “failure of information.” Henderson closes with a set of prescriptions for bringing a more equitable economics to the personal level, one that, among other things, asks us to step outside routine—eat less meat, drive less—and become active in forcing corporations (and politicians) to be better citizens.
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.Pub Date: May 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5417-3015-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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