Great Reading
Over the last 10 years, I have bounced back and forth from periods where I love who-done-it fiction, to times where I enjoy reading about business and self-improvement. A few weeks ago, I turned my attention from the latest Dean Koontz novel towards the topic of communication (specifically verbal business/group communication).
Unlike some other topics to which I have been recently drawn, I have been able to find much helpful material written on this subject.
One of my favorite resources for professional learning, the Harvard Business Review, has a great collection entitled Effective Communication. Contained within are a number of articles regarding the skills and goals required for effective verbal communication. Out of this collection, two articles stand out. The first is How To Run A Meeting by Antony Jay, which talks about the functions of meetings and offers advice for planning and implementing a successful meeting. The other is Listening to People where authors Ralph G. Nichols and Leonard A. Stevens discusses the importance listening and how each of us can work to improve our listening skills.
Additionally, I have found myself reading and rereading Robert’s Rules of Order – Simplified and Applied. While found the expected detailed explanation and examples of Parliamentary Procedure contained in this text, I also found it to offer a tremendous insight to human communication and interaction.
So now what? If you have any ideas for must-reads on this or other topics, please let me know. Otherwise, I am off to Amazon.com to find new material with the intent of satisfying my growing curiosity of verbal communication.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:20 am
How Full is Your Bucket: Positive Strategies For Work and Life by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton.
I just finished this book last night. The concept is simple but effective and it is a very quick read. It brought some common sense principles to my daily thoughts when interacting with people. It’s written by the same guys who wrote Now, Discover Your Strengths.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Thanks. I will check it out!